Reconstruction
by Very Swampeh
Summary: Homunculi defeated, sins fixed, world saved. It's time to let the romance roll! 100 EdWin themes that tell Ed and Winry's post-manga story. Slight AU. Spoilers, angst, humor, and lots of love, with Royai and AlMei. 40: A sword, a book, and a surprise.
1. Savings Box

**First shot at some EdWin romance. For some reason, I only like the pairing the manga; it doesn't seem right in the anime. Anyway. **

**Don't know how often this will be updated; I'm kinda lazy. Sorry, guys! I will really and honestly try, though. Promise!**

**There will be a good amount of angst throughout this. I can't help it. I'll try for some fluff and humor, but no telling how that will turn out.**

**Oh, using the manga up through Ch. 83 as canon. Spoilers; you've been warned.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA! So sad.**

1. Savings Box

Winry rummaged around in her bag, brow furrowed in concentration. She knew she had packed that thing, so where the heck was it?

Five minutes later, she found it, wrapped inside a shirt. Said shirt was hastily discarded on the floor as she opened the tiny wooden box. Inside was a collection of bills and some change filled the box almost to the brim and rattled loudly as she shifted through it, trying to estimate the amount.

It was her Wedding Box, the one her mother had given her on her fifth birthday. She could distinctly remember unwrapping the bright paper and gasping at the intricate carvings of horses, flowers, and other designs that had been done by her mother's hand.

_"It's your Wedding Box, Winry. You can put any spare change in it and soon you'll have enough for a fabulous wedding!"_

Back then, she had believed that she could save enough for her 'fabulous wedding', and had dutifully deposited her change in it. She still dropped her change in it, years later, but it was more of a habit now.

She couldn't have been happier that she did. Winry didn't know how much was in there, but she really didn't care. The money was dumped into her purse and the box, now empty, went back into her bag.

It was depressing to see the little box so empty, but the money was needed. The military was covering Ed's hospital fees, but just fixing his body wasn't going to be enough. Ed needed emotional healing, too, and the best way to do that was to get his mind off his injuries.

She had thought talking would do the trick. But no. Ed was conscious and lucid, and so he was fully aware and reminded every day of what more he had lost in the fight. And that was working against him. While his body slowly recovered, the doctors had admitted that he was losing the will to keep going.

Neither Al's return to his body or the saving of Amistris seemed to be reason enough for the young alchemist to keep living.

"_I don't want to live like… this," _he had told her earlier that morning, an utterly lifeless look on his face. Even his eyes, the once bright and fiery, were glazed over and downcast.

Winry had tried to deny it; why would Ed just stop living after all of this? But when the blonde didn't fight another I.V. needle, Winry knew the doctors were right.

So Winry was now a woman with a mission. She grabbed her coat and marched her way out of the hotel room, jaw set. The money for her wedding would be gone by the end of the day, but if she didn't spend it, her very wedding would be gone.

After all, a bride needed a groom.

**Ta-da! Angsty, wasn't it? Tried to keep it down and go for some romance… **

**Review, please? I'd like some ideas for fluff scenes and anything else in this fic :3**


	2. Lip Cream

**I have reviewers! I love you all very much :3**

2. Lip Cream

The cold winter wind was like a knife to the face and Winry let out a sigh of relief as she pushed her way through the hospital doors that evening. Her shopping trip had been a success and she quickly made her way through the halls to Ed's room, Room 114.

It was much warmer in the hospital and Winry had to remove her coat. She turned the corner, still fumbling with the jacket, and bumped into another person.

"Oh! Lieutenant! I'm sorry, I wasn't paying any attention."

Hawkeye only smiled and waved her apology away. "No, no. It's alright. No harm. You're here to see Edward, I suppose?"

"Yes, I-"

"You just missed him then. They knocked the Boss out with some drugs about five minutes ago," interrupted Havoc, who wheeled himself up next to Hawkeye. An unlit cigarette was perched on his lips and he glanced over his shoulder towards Edward's room.

"Oh. They were painkillers?" Winry asked, immediately deflating a little.

Hawkeye gave Havoc a warning glance, but the man ignored it and spoke up. "Think so. You know how automail gets when it's cold."

Winry stiffened and bit her lip and Hawkeye immediately smacked the back of Havoc's head. The man whimpered a little and hunkered down in his wheelchair, giving Hawkeye a baleful glare. "Well it's the truth!" he grumbled.

Hawkeye glared back before turning back to Winry, a kinder expression on her face. "We'd better go. It seems that Havoc needs some drugs himself. Have a good night, Winry," she said, grabbing the handles on the wheelchair and pushing the man rather quickly down the hallway.

Winry watched them leave before making her way to Ed's room. She quietly pushed the door open and stepped into the dark room before closing it behind her. One of the lamps was on in the corner, giving her enough light to maneuver around the room. The blinds were drawn and it seemed Ed had been bedded down for the night.

The doctors had indeed given Ed another shot; there was a new bandage on the inside of his elbow of his left arm. Winry felt a stab of guilt when she saw her childhood friend. The automail and the pain that came with it was _her _fault, no matter what he said otherwise.

"I can't show you what I got until you wake up, Ed," she whispered, clutching his flesh hand and massaging it gently. It was rather difficult with the brace on it, but Winry didn't care. "Looks like I'll just have to wait."

There was no response and Winry sighed, her eyes traveling to Edward's face. The stitches across his forehead had finally been removed, leaving a long, red scar, but the slashes on his right cheek were still bandaged.

The mechanic frowned as her eyes landed on Ed's lips. They were dry and cracked and Winry felt a flare of anger at the nursing staff. Didn't they have the sense to check for little things like that? She grabbed her purse and began to dig through it furiously until she pulled out a small can of lip cream. Unscrewing the lid, she swept some onto her finger and began to dab them on his lips.

She half expected some sort of response, maybe a grunt or twitch, but Ed slept on. Winry shook her head as she put the lip cream back in her bag; it looked like she'd been waiting a while.

**Awww, Ed's beat up and on drugs. How sweet. And for those of you thinking that Ed's only injuries are to his head and arm, well, you're in for a surprise…**

**Review, yes? Perhaps you will find out about Winry's shopping sooner... **


	3. Photograph

**More thanks to the reviwers! Now for chapter 3!**

3. Photograph

Winry sighed and leaned back in the chair. Ed wasn't doing anything truly interesting or entertaining at the moment, so her eyes wandered around the room. On the table by the window were two vases of flowers; there probably would have been more if Ed actually enjoyed them, but the blonde enjoyed little these days. A couple of books, no doubt alchemy texts from Al and Mustang, were stacked in a small bookcase across the room from the bed. Opposite of the window, on the same side as the door, was the bathroom, its door slightly ajar.

A sigh escaped Winry's lips and she propped her elbow on the bedside table next to her. She was surprised when it bumped a book and she picked it up with interest.

Of course, it was an alchemy book. Al had probably been trying to get Ed to get interested and talkative about something. Whether or not it had worked, Winry didn't know, but that wasn't what had caught her attention. Sticking out of the book was a picture, and she quickly removed it from the book.

The picture was a recent one; it had been taken at the Hughes's house about two weeks before. Everyone, from Mustang and the Armstrongs to Kimbley's ex-chimeras and Scar had been there for the final strike against Father and the Homunculi.

Despite the impending fight, things had been happy- Ed had gotten Al's body back with the help of the Stone Kimbley had dropped back at Briggs. Al had been incredibly skinny and weak and Ed was still getting over the impaling he had taken, but the two of them were grinning widely, sprawled on the sofa in the living room. The younger Elric was clinging possessively to Edward's right leg while the elder ruffled Al's hair.

Winry bit her lip and hastily put the picture back in the book before she could start crying. She wasn't in the mood to have to clean herself up afterwards, and besides, she had to be the strong one now. She pushed the book away and leaned over the unconscious alchemist in the bed.

"Al needs you, Ed," she whispered. That phrase had worked countless times in the past, but this time, nothing. Winry frowned, a scowl on her face. "Edward Elric, you just saved Amistris's ass, and you're just going to lay around and sleep?!" she hissed at him, grabbing his flesh wrist and squeezing. At that moment she really didn't care if it was fractured; she had had enough of feeling helpless and watching her friend waste away. "You better wake up or I'm getting that wrench out. I'll give you a worse beating than any of those Homunculi did!"

The threat was empty and she knew it. She would never be able to bring Ed any more harm when he was in this condition; giving him automail had been hard enough. But now she had something stronger than her wrench; something that was sure to get some kind of response out of the blonde alchemist.

Winry's scowl turned into a crafty smirk at the thought of her present. Edward would never see it coming…

**More teasing about Winry's mysterious present ;D Just one more chapter until you find out. Hold on till then, okay?**

**Review, por favor.**


	4. BandAid

**Thanks to all of my reviewers! I'm really surprised at how many people are reading/reviewing/putting it on their Alert List this early. So for all of you who are ready to kill me for putting it off this long, here you go! **

**Just a warning, Winry is rather... naughty in this chapter. So you might get a tad freaked out. You've been warned!**

4. Band-Aid

Winry yawned loudly and stretched. She had dozed off in the chair some time ago, and now, with a glance at the clock, saw that it was a little after midnight. She grinned a little; the perfect time for _that _was coming.

She began to crack her knuckles, but stopped halfway as a coppery smell reached her nose.

Blood?

Sure enough, a small dot of red had made its way through the sheets. Pulling them back, Winry frowned to see that Ed didn't even have a shirt on. Of course, almost every inch of his torso was bandaged so a shirt would have just gotten in the way. Still, to think that the nurses left Edward shirtless… "Not that I can blame them," Winry mumbled with a slight blush. Edward did have a very nice chest.

The doctor instincts immediately took over and Winry began rummaging around for bandages. Once she had found them, she filled a bowl with warm water and grabbed a couple of towels from the bathroom. She deposited her supplies on the bedside table and began to remove the bloodied bandages, piling them on the floor to be cleaned up later.

The numerous cuts and slashes on the alchemist's chest were quickly washed clean with the water and some alcohol she had found in the bathroom. Winry became so absorbed in the task that she lost track of the time. She carefully rolled Ed onto his side so that she could reach his back and the long sword slice from Wrath.

The mechanic was finishing rebinding the wound when the silence was pierced by a weak cough.

"Winry?"

She was so surprised that she yelped and dropped Ed's side and the alchemist fell onto his back, a nonplussed look on his face. "Ed! I didn't know you were awake!" she exclaimed, blushing furiously and glad that Ed probably couldn't tell in the dim lighting.

"The meds wore off," he mumbled, sinking further into the pillows. Winry frowned at the lack of response and began packing everything back into its respective place.

Once everything had been returned or thrown away, Winry headed back to the bed and sat down at the edge. "You need anything? More blankets or something to drink?" she asked, filling a glass with water from the pitcher on the little cart of supplies that the doctors had left in the room.

"No, I'm good," he replied quietly, staring at the ceiling.

Winry felt a smirk cross her face. "Good. Then you'll have time for this," she said happily, getting up and practically bouncing over to her purse. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Ed raising an eyebrow at her suddenly happy behavior. "Here!" she exclaimed, tossing a small, wrapped package at Edward's lap.

The alchemist frowned at the wrapped box and began to tear the paper off slowly, completely absorbed in the task.

A couple of muttered curses later, Ed had the paper off and stared at the box, the color slowly draining from his face. "Win? You, uh, sure you meant to give this to- Holy crap! Winry, why are you stripping?!" Ed exclaimed, eyes wide and the little box forgotten.

From the other side of the bed, Winry gave Ed an innocent look, her shirt halfway off. "Edward, you don't think I would buy you condoms just for kicks, do you? And besides, I spent good money on this lingerie…" she said slyly, smiling rather naughtily.

Ed looked ready to faint and he scooted into a sitting position to get further away from his mechanic, eyes wide with panic. But it was in vain and Winry had grabbed his wrists in a second and pulled him closer.

"Ready, Ed?" she asked before leaning over and turning out the light.

Edward whimpered.

… **Buttsex, anyone? Sorry, really couldn't help it. The next couple of chapters are going to be rather interesting; I have to get all the "funny sex" out of my system. **

**Some of you might be wondering why Winry just jumped Ed like that without all the "I love you!" stuff. Honestly, I just couldn't write that and we know they know that they love each other anyone. Remember the manga chapter at Briggs where Ed started reciting the Periodic Table in the middle of automail replacement? I rest my case.**

**So yes, Winry went shopping for condoms and lingerie. Poor Ed's all traumatized now. Review for love.**


	5. Oil Sex One's Nature Magic

**Hey again, everyone! Here's chapter 5, but not sure about when 6 will come. Our air conditioner decided to break last night, and as I live in New Orleans, that is a very bad thing. It's hot. REALLY REALLY HOT. So I think we'll be going to someone's house or something until the AC people decide to show up and fix it. I'm not really supposed to be on the computer at all since it could overheat and implode or something. **

**But enough complaining; you don't care. On with the fic!**

5. Oil Sex/ One's Nature Magic

Winry let out a contented sigh as she shoved her nose further into the crook of Edward's neck. "How you feeling now?" she asked, feeling fairly pleased with herself.

Ed raised his head to roll his eyes at her. "Winry, that was practically rape," he whined, but drew her closer into a hug.

"No it wasn't. It was sex you didn't know you wanted," she shot back, pushing him onto his back and curling up on his chest. Despite the bandages, it was very warm and comfortable.

He snorted quietly and smirked. "I think I did pretty well for the first time and all. I mean, I'm missing both legs and hooked up to IV's and all that," he said, glancing at one of the blood bags before frowning suddenly at a thought. "Ah, crap."

"What?" Winry asked, head shooting up and she pulled the covers closer. "You didn't pull something out did you?"

"No. But look at time. It's almost seven; they'll be bringing breakfast in soon."

Winry squeaked and scrambled out of the bed, quickly shuffling over to her purse and pulling out another pair of clothes to put on. Edward propped himself up on his elbows and watched her with amusement. "You really had this all planned out, didn't you?" he asked.

The mechanic finished pulling on her shoes and grinned. "Of course. We don't need anyone finding out, do we? Imagine the gossip that would cause," she said, pulling out a small bottle of air freshener and giving the room a quick spray. "Check the bed for anything," she ordered from across the room.

Ed obliged and lifted the sheets up. "Nope. You cleaned up well," he replied, leaning back onto the pillows and putting his arms behind his head with a smile. "So. What's going to be the story for my miraculous recovery?"

"I smacked some sense into you and then threatened to disconnect your arm."

The alchemist frowned, but then closed his eyes with a shrug. "Alright. It sounds like something you would do."

Winry frowned and stalked over to Ed before shoving her face in his. "Excuse me? Beating you sounds like something I would do?" she asked with a growl, eyes narrowed.

Ed's eyes snapped open and he grinned sheepishly. "Well, uh, every time I go to get the automail fixed, you throw wrenches at me and…" Ed trailed off as a storm cloud practically formed around Winry's head. "Screw it," he muttered and pulled Winry onto his lap and began to kiss her.

It would have gone on for much longer if the nurse with breakfast hadn't knocked on the door. Winry yelped and jumped off the bed and into the chair and Edward hastily pulled the sheets around him and grabbed the glass of water that had been sitting on the nightstand and began to drink, trying to hide the blush that had formed.

The nurse entered with the cart of food and gawked at Ed for a moment. He stared back, glass still clenched in his hand. "'Morning," he said and his stomach gave a rumble of discontent. The alchemist grinned awkwardly and gave the food cart a hopeful glance.

In her chair, Winry smirked as a plate of hash browns, eggs, orange juice, and bacon was placed on the lap tray and Ed began to inhale his breakfast, much to the nurse's horror and disgust. It looked like everything would be okay after all.

**What can I say? Ed's horny. If Ed's seeming kind of OoC, don't worry. It'll all be over soon; maybe another 1 or 2 chapters.**

**And who noticed that Ed's missing both legs now? Oh, the angst. Cookies for reviewers.**


	6. Traveling Abroad

**My air conditioner's fixed! Hooray! Thanks to all who reviewed and those who added this to their alert list! **

6. Traveling Abroad

"Win, I'm bored," Ed whined from his bed after the nurse left with the empty breakfast plate.

Winry raised an eyebrow and paused from her organizing, hands on hips. "Watching me isn't good enough for you?" she asked dryly.

Edward smirked and scooted over on his bed, patting the newly formed space. "I prefer live shows over movies," he replied with the ever-famous Elric grin.

"Pervert. You know, you much less annoying before I had sex with you."

"You must be magical, Winry. How about an encore?"

The mechanic scowled and turned back to organizing the books into some sort of order, trying to ignore the snickering behind her. Al and Mustang obviously didn't care about being able to find anything easily; the bookshelf was a mess… "You know, you're worse than General Mustang now."

Edward's explosion of swearwords set Winry into a fit of giggles and she pushed the last book onto the shelf before turning back to the bed-ridden teen. Ed had his arms crossed across his chest was glaring at the wall as he pouted. The golden blonde hair had come out of its ponytail and Winry was reminded vaguely of sulking puppy.

She plopped down in front of Ed, head tilted, where his legs would have been. Unconsciously, she glanced down at the lump formed by the little remaining stump if left leg. From what she had been told, it had been bitten clean off by Envy during the battle. The right leg was a completely different story; Pride had torn the whole thing, from toes to the joint in his hip, clean off.

The mechanic swallowed heavily and glanced away, biting her lip; the images of the wounds from the day Mustang had pretty much dragged Ed's body into the hospital after the battle came roaring back in a clarity she wished she didn't remember.

"Heyyyy, Winry? You're not about to start crying, are you?" Ed asked nervously, breaking into her thoughts. She jumped and stared at him, forcing a smile.

"No. I was just thinking."

Ed didn't look the least bit convinced but let the subject drop. "I'm still bored," he muttered.

Winry crossed her legs on the bed and leaned back on her hands. "Well, what did you to pass time when you were traveling all over the place?"

A slight blush snuck onto Ed's face and he began to pick at the wrist brace with his automail hand. "Actually, I thought about you a lot," he mumbled, not meeting her eyes. It seemed that the brace had become very interesting.

Winry felt a blush creep on her own face and she leaned forward and wrapped Edward in a hug. He let out what could only be described as a squeak before hugging her back. "Even when you were trying to work things out with the Stone and everything?"

Ed tensed a little. "Yeah. You kept popping into my thoughts and it drove me crazy because I was supposed to be trying to get Al's body back and all I could think of was you."

Winry sniffled happily. "Ed, you're such a sweetie," she said, hugging him tighter. "Was that why you were always so cranky? Couldn't focus on Al because you were thinking of me all the time?"

Ed's only response was an unintelligible grumble.

**I think that's all for horny!Ed for a while now. But look! Fluff! Hooray! Review pretty please. It makes me feel loved. :D**


	7. Group of Falling Stars

**EEP! Sorry guys! We left for a family reunion on Wednesday, and I thought we were leaving on Thursday -head/desk- But I'm not dead! So here's another cchapter of fluff!**

7. A Group of Falling Stars

Winry hurried down the hospital's halls about a week after Ed's "miraculous recovery". It was well after visiting hours, but she didn't care. Ed, being a newly-promoted Colonel, had been able to convince the hospital staff to let him have overnight guests and, with the influence of General Mustang, the rule was easily bent for the Fullmetal Alchemist.

Winry reached the room and barged in, not bothering to knock. She kicked the door shut behind her and dropped her coat on the top of the bookshelf.

Edward raised an eyebrow. "What's all the excitement about?" he asked lightly from his sprawled position on the bed. Even when he was missing both of his legs, it seemed Ed managed to take up more space than should have been possible for someone of his size.

"I just read in the paper that there's going to be a meteor shower tonight!" Winry squealed, clapping her hands together.

Ed snorted. "That's what's got you all worked up?"

"Yes! And you're going to go watch it with me!"

That caught the alchemist off-guard. "I am?" he asked.

"Yes!"

"…Um, where?"

Winry's smile grew even more. "The roof! I checked it with your doctor and he said it would be good for you to get out."

Edward didn't seem to thrilled with the concept. "Win, how am I supposed to get up to the roof?" He stared at Winry a moment before groaning and slapping his left hand to his face. "Oh, you are _not _going to carry me up there."

A snort of laughter caused Ed to take the hand down. "Don't be an idiot. That's what wheelchairs are for."

It took a lot of self-restraint on Ed's part to not explode into a rage about him not being a cripple and not needing the damn thing.

Winry was already digging in the suitcase of Ed's clothes that Al had brought. She grumbled in disgust at the lack of choice and chucked a shirt at him, which missed his outstretched hand and collided with his face instead.

Huffing, Ed sat up and pulled the shirt on, wincing as the movement pulled stitches and stretched muscles that he hadn't moved in while. Being shirtless was much more convenient.

Pants proved to be a problem. Winry held a pair of sweatpants in one hand while she glanced between them and Ed's boxer-clad bottom.

"I think it's a lost cause, Win," Ed declared with a touch of pride. Maybe if she couldn't get him dressed properly, he could stay there. The bed was very warm and it was very cold outside.

"No worries!" Winry chimed happily and scooted off to the bathroom, returning almost instantly with a large blanket and a triumphant grin on her face.

Ed saw his plan fly out the window and he sighed and held his hands up in surrender. He had tried.

Twenty minutes later, they were on the rooftop, Winry in her coat and Ed wrapped in the blanket. Winry's eyes were wide as she watched the shower and Ed couldn't help but smirk a little at her expression. If only he had a camera…

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her hand shift down to the armrest of his wheelchair. Ed bit his lip, turning the forming idea over in his mind.

He carefully wiggled his left arm free of the blanket that Winry had practically bound him in and covered her hand with it and squeezed gently. She returned the squeeze silently and Ed decided that getting stuck in the cold, on the roof, and in a wheelchair had been well worth it.

**Awww, the fluffiness of it all! 8D **

**Reviews will be loved, ya'll. -nudges-**


	8. Ball Game

8

**Yes, another chapter! Sorry about the delays, but I'm taking Driver's Ed this week, every day from 8-4. Long days. **

**But good news! This fic has reached 1,000+ views! Thanks a million you guys! That makes me feel all happy and loved. :D**

**Oh! There's a poll on my profile that I would really like everyone to vote on. You get three votes, so vote away! **

8. Ball Game

Edward groaned and flopped back on the pillows of his bed, massaging his temples slowly. It had been a long day of removing stitches and of the doctors examining every last inch of his body. Ed did not like to be poked, and he had been poked with almost every kind of item imaginable in the past couple of hours.

And, after about six hours of examination, they had _finally _brought him back to his room for dinner, which just so happened to come with milk.

The world was out to get him, he was sure of it.

Ed was in such a dour mood, he didn't even stop to enjoy the fact that he was off of the IVs and only had to wait on a couple of more wounds to heal over before they released him.

"Maybe I can finally get some sleep," he muttered, burrowing under the covers and pulling a pillow over his head.

He was just drifting off into a doze when the door slammed open and someone jumped on top of him. For a split second, he thought it was Al, who had developed a very painful (at least for Ed, who was never expecting it) habit of tackling Ed whenever he saw him.

But the pillow was yanked away to reveal not Al, but Winry, looking very excited. "ED! So glad you're awake!" she chirped, pushing herself off of the alchemist and letting him sit up.

"Winry, what the hell do you want?" he asked blearily. "I'm trying to sleep and heal like you keep telling me to! How do you expect me to get out of this place if you keep me up all night?"

The mechanic ignored the question. "I heard you got most of your stitches out today, and I told the doctor I'd see how well the muscles had healed," she explained, sliding off the bed and skipping over to the door.

Ed frowned. Why was she always so happy? It was really annoying at times. "You're not going to poke me, are you?" he called after her, clenching the sides of the bed unconsciously.

"Nope!" came the answer from the hallway. "Are you dressed?"

"…Yes."

"Good! Get in your wheelchair."

Edward sputtered indignantly for a moment before grabbing the wheelchair, which the nurse had oh-so-kindly left within reach, and pulling himself into it. "Care to tell me why, Winry?"

"You're going to play ping-pong," Winry said triumphantly, pushing the table into the room.

Ed gawked. "Play ping-pong?" he repeated, ignoring the paddle Winry threw into his lap after she set up the table.

Winry bounced the ball challengingly on the table with her paddle. "Yup. You'll have to move your arm and back muscles for this. And I'm not holding back, Edward," she said, smirking.

Edward Elric was a person who did not back down from a challenge, no matter what the odds were or what the challenge was. It didn't matter who it was or where they happened to be.

So it didn't matter in the slightest that his mechanic (who was more than his mechanic now, obviously) was challenging him to ping-pong when he was in a wheelchair in the hospital.

The alchemist cracked his knuckles and twirled the paddle in his right hand while grinning evilly at his opponent. "Bring it on, Winry. I'm ready for you," he said, positioning his wheelchair at his end of the table for optimal performance.

The ping-pong match did not last very long. The kissing that followed the match, however, lasted far into the night.

**I was going to have Winry get Ed and Havoc to play ping-pong, but I think this is a much better idea. And I don't have a clue who won. **

**You know the drill. Review! **


	9. King

**Thanks for the reviews, everyone! I feel so special when I log on the next day and I see them. **

**Just as a note, this fic will be slower in updating for a while. I'm working on another- Tenebrae- which is really angsty and has character death. (You should all totally go read and review it...) I need to get it out of my system before I can really focus on this fic, which I want to be a fairly happy and lovey-dovey. Sorry about that, guys!**

**Important: This is a flashback chapter!**

9. King

Winry quietly made her way around the sleeping bodies on the floor on her way to the entrance of the shack. Everyone who was participating in the fight had managed to sneak out of Central to gather there for the planning of the final attack against Father and his Homunculi. Staying at Gracia's had been deemed to risky for the family, so they had relocated to the outskirts of the city.

Anyone who could fight either with alchemy or with a gun had come; even Havoc had proved himself valuable enough with a gun to be smuggled out of the hospital for the fight. Winry had come not to fight, but to be the acting doctor. Marco and Mei would be out in the fray and someone was needed to patch up the wounds and keep everyone alive as long as possible.

Edward had not been the least bit pleased with the decision.

It was a clear, chilly night, and Winry shivered slightly as she slipped out of the opening of the old shack and into the ankle-deep blanket of snow.

"You know, you really should be sleeping. It's going to be hell tomorrow."

Winry jumped and whirled around, coming face-to-face with Ling. No, Greed. But Ling sometimes got control, so it could be either…. She shook herself firmly and frowned at the Homunculus. "I've been sleeping. I came to find Ed; he's on guard this shift, right?"

Ling frowned, a spark of jealousy flashing through his eyes. "Why you wanna find the pipsqueak?" he asked, a puff of frost forming in the air as he spoke.

Winry glared right back. "I need to talk to him," she said firmly, crossing her arms across her chest to show she meant business.

The Homunculus narrowed his eyes before sighing and waving a hand flippantly. "He's on the other side of the shack," he answered coldly, turning his back on Winry to continue his watch.

Instead of replying, Winry turned on her heel and stalked around the house, eyes checking around her cautiously. Wouldn't do to get attacked, and possibly killed, the day before the fight.

"Win! What the hell are you doing out here?"

Winry glanced up at the outburst to see Ed, perched on the roof. He was staring at her with a look of anger and confusion. "Seriously, Winry, there's stuff out here. You should be back with the others," he added, pulling the white jacket a little tighter around his shoulders.

"And leave you out here alone? Don't think so," she shot back as she made her way up the pile of logs that were obviously used as stairs to get to the roof. Once up there, she scooted over next to the alchemist, who was still protesting weakly about her being there.

An awkward silence stretched between them, with Ed glaring in the other direction, jaw set firmly in annoyance and Winry glaring at the back of his head. The battle of wills would have stretched on for much longer if not for Winry's sudden sneeze.

Ed jumped and frowned at her. "Knew it. You're going to get sick," he muttered. He licked his lips as if mulling over something then hesitantly wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against his chest.

It wasn't that much warmer, but Winry felt like she was melting. She happily wrapped both of her arms around his waist and snuggled in closer. "Maybe," she mumbled in reply to his comment. "But I don't really care."

The alchemist grumbled something under his breath before burying his nose in her hair. "You know, Winry, I feel like a king," he said after a moment's pause.

Winry frowned into Edward's chest. She knew he had a tendency to get a little too full of himself, but this was new. "Why? Because of the whole saving-the-country thing?" she asked, turning herself over so she could wrap her arms around his neck and look at him in the face.

Edward rolled his eyes. "No. It's because I'm in love with a queen," he said, voice dropping down to a very seductive whisper.

Winry felt a blush rush to her face and she stared at him, mouth hanging open.

Ed raised an eyebrow at her silence and scowled. "What? No thank you?"

"Oh! Uh, uh…" The words just wouldn't come. Who would have thought that Edward would have stunned her into silence like this?

It seemed the alchemist had lost faith in her ever thanking him properly. "And you know the king always goes off to save the world and leaves the queen behind," he said absently, staring forward, in the direction of Central.

She pulled herself closer to him. "But the king always come back for the queen and they live happily every after," she replied quietly.

Edward tensed and Winry saw his eyes close. "That only happens in the stories, Winry. Not in real life."

Winry didn't think she'd ever wanted to cry so much in her life. But she held the tears back and clung to Ed even tighter. Maybe morning just wouldn't come.

**Angst: It's what's for dinner.**

**And this is what working on Tenebrae has done to me. So unless you want massive angst and possible death, please forgive me for taking a slight break from this. Hey, why don't review to make me happy?**


	10. Burn

**Another chapter! This one's full of humor and really hot Ed. Like, really hot. You'll see...**

**Also gave the description a little bit of an edit. Just because :D**

10. Burn

"Happy birthday, Ed!"

Surprised, Ed looked up from the newspaper he was reading to stare at Winry and Al. "What?" he asked, frowning in confusion.

Winry rolled her eyes and looked like she was fighting the urge to hit him with something. "Don't you remember anything? Really, Ed, it's your birthday," she explained as Al deposited a covered plate on the side table.

Ed flipped to the front page of the newspaper to check the date. "Huh, it is." The blonde glanced at the plate curiously. "Is that pie?" he asked hopefully, tossing the newspaper aside, attention now completely focused on possible food.

Al smirked and shook his head. "We baked you an actual cake," he said, taking the lid off the plate and revealing the circular cake, covered in white icing. "We tried to do writing with icing, but it didn't work out so well," the younger Elric added, looking sheepish.

The elder Elric waved a hand dismissively. "That's fine. So long as it's good," he said, licking his lips and drooling a tad. Hospital food left something to be desired, and they rarely gave him anything with large amounts of sugar.

He completely ignored the snickering from Al as Winry pulled out a box of candles and began to stick them in the cake. Ed watched, unconsciously following along with Winry's mumbled counting.

"Fifteen… Sixteen…. Seventeen! Alright, all done. Where are the matches, Al?" she asked the younger teen who was digging in one of his pockets.

"Al, you put matches in your pocket?" Ed asked, raising an eyebrow as his younger brother pulled out a small book of matches. "What, you trying to set your butt on fire?"

Al glared, a slight blush coming to his cheeks. "I, uh, kinda forgot that I'm flammable now," he admitted guiltily.

Winry and Ed gawked at Al in silence while Al fidgeted, obviously embarrassed, before exploding into laughter. Al blushed harder and flailed wildly. "Brother! Winry! It's not my fault! Shut up!" he wailed, clenching his fists.

Ed had rolled over on the bed and was snickering loudly into the pillows. Winry, however, had more self-control and stopped her laughing first. "Sorry, Al. It's just that you've never described your body as 'flammable' before."

The only response she got was Al shoving the matches into her hand and throwing the plastic lid from the cake at Ed's head.

She rolled her eyes and began to light the candles as Ed howled at Al's sudden burst of violence and the younger brother's shouted retorts. Those two were impossible.

"Hey! Stop arguing!" she shouted at the pair, hands on hips. Al sullenly scooted off the bed (he and Ed had started an impromptu arm wrestling match for no apparent reason) and Edward cracked his knuckles threateningly as he eyed the cake.

After a badly-sung round of "Happy Birthday", Ed leaned over, licking his lips and eyeing the cake hungrily to blow out the candles. He had just inhaled, eyes narrowed, to blow, when Winry let out a ear-piercing shriek.

"ED! Your hair's on fire!"

Ed shot up straight, eyes wide. "Wait, what?" he asked, before glancing to side to see one of his bangs burning. "HOLY CRAP! DO SOMETHING!"

The room filled with the shouted orders and curses for a good two minutes before Al saved the day, filling a bowl with water from the bathroom and dousing Ed, the bed he was sitting on, and some of Winry, who had been trying to calm the panicking alchemist.

There was another stretch of silence between the three before Al starting snickering, one hand holding the empty bowl and the other pointing at Ed. Winry began giggling too, one hand covering her mouth to hold back her laughter.

Ed glowered at the two before pulling the still-lit cake to him, blowing out the candles, and grabbing a slice. "Can't even have a simple birthday cake with you two," he grumped, shoving the cake in his mouth with a growl.

* * *

**Flammable!Al. There's some****thing you don't see everyday...The ending doesn't seem right here. D: Oh well. **

**Do I even have to say it? Review!**


	11. Trouble Maker

**Another chapter! This one wrote itself, so enjoy!**

11. Trouble Maker

"So, Ed, how much time you want off?" Mustang asked, tossing a pile of papers in front of the blonde, who was munching on a piece of toast.

Ed frowned, shoving the last of the toast into his mouth. "Well, I have to have automail surgery on both my legs, so…" he trailed off, head tilted to one side. "Took a year to do an arm and a leg last time, so two legs should be about the same. I'm thinking about three years," the alchemist said, leaning back against the headboard of the bed he was in.

Mustang almost choked on the coffee he was drinking. "Three years?! Fullmetal, you just said it yourself- it only took a year last time around."

"I know. But I'm not in a rush this time. I like doing nothing and getting paid for it. Whoever invented paid sick leaves was a genius."

The General scowled. "There you go, exploiting the system."

"Well of course. Don't say you were expecting me to be a good, trained dog all of a sudden," Ed replied, smirking.

Mustang decided it would be safest to continue drinking his coffee and ignore the teen. After the coffee was all gone and there was no other way to subtly ignore Ed, the General leaned back in his chair with a sigh. "You're going to Rush Valley for the operation, right?" he asked.

"Yup. Winry's opened shop over there and has much better stuff than Pinako does back in Risembool. Honestly, I wasn't given much choice in the matter," Edward replied, glaring at the wall. "I hate that crazy town. Everyone want to take my automail apart," he growled.

"Maybe they're hoping to immobilize you so you'll stop ripping the place apart. You're quite the troublemaker when you visit."

"That only happened once! And I didn't even start that fight! It's that stupid Prince's fault!" Ed shot back, teeth clenched.

Mustang raised an eyebrow. "For once you have a point. But I suppose you won't mind spending all that time with Miss Rockbell."

Ed exhaled loudly. "Well, no. We might actually have some decent time together now. I always kinda blew her off when Al and I were searching for the Stone and all that crap… What are you staring at me like that for?"

Mustang's mouth had fallen open and his eyes were as wide as saucers. "I knew it!" he shouted triumphantly, jumping out of his chair and pointing a finger at Ed, who was staring dumbly back.

"Knew what?"

"That you and Miss Rockbell are _much_ more than mechanic and client… and friends, for that matter," he replied smugly.

Edward let out a roar of fury and lunged towards Mustang, who was already making a break for the door. Good thing Ed had managed to screw up one of the wheels on the wheelchair the night before and couldn't follow. An immobile Ed was much easier to run from than a mobile one.

Once out the hospital doors, Mustang slowed to a halt, trying to catch his breath. He'd have to make sure not to visit Fullmetal alone anymore; it would not be good to find himself bound and gagged in the chamber pot room, which Ed would surely do when the wheelchair came back.

"Hey, Chief, you okay?"

Mustang glanced up to see Breda giving him a worried look. "Yes, I'm fine. I was just having a conversation with Fullmetal about his relationships."

Breda gave him a horrified look. "Are you suicidal or something?" he asked warily.

"Ha! No, no. I just like messing around with him."

The other man groaned. "You make as much trouble as the Boss, you know."

That got another snicker from Mustang. "Please. He beats anyone at wrecking havoc and causing trouble. I couldn't even touch skill like that."

**So who's more of the trouble maker: Ed or Mustang? You decide (in a review)!**


	12. Vacuum Cleaner

**The votes are in- Ed is more of a trouble maker! Sorry, Mustang; maybe next time.**

12. Vacuum Cleaner

If anyone else ate like that, Winry had a feeling that they would be diagnosed with an eating disorder and dragged into therapy. But since it was Ed, no one gave a hoot that he ate like a vacuum cleaner.

The mechanic watched, amused, as Ed swallowed a hunk of beef whole and downed it with a large gulp of water before repeating the process again. "Ed, do you even taste the food?" Winry finally asked as Ed used a piece of bread to sop up the last of the gravy on the plate from his dinner.

"Yes," Ed replied indignantly, mouth full of the bread. She still looked a little shocked by his eating habits, so he swallowed and elaborated. "It's not like you've never seen me eat before, either. And the faster you eat, the more you can eat. It takes your stomach about 20 minutes to tell your brain that it's full, so if you stuff yourself quickly, you get more in," he explained, pointing the fork at her and looking every bit like a college professor.

Winry continued to stare, but finally shook her head. "So that's why you always sleep after you eat? Too full of food?" she joked, deciding to poke some fun at the alchemist.

He scowled and moved the tray to the bedside table. "Yeah, well, what about you? Always ordering salads and worrying about gaining weight. Remember when you freaked out over the five pounds you gained one winter when we kids?"

"Ed! I'm a girl and -"

"Yeah, I'm aware of that."

"- It's natural for me to freak about those things. And it's not like you've never been concerned about your weight!"

Ed frowned. "When did I ever worry about my weight?"

"After you got your automail. Granny had you get on the scale and you forgot that metal weighs more than bone. You thought you'd gained thirty pounds of fat," Winry reminded him, giggling a little. It had been amusing to see a twelve-year-old Edward run screaming from the room and straight outside, where he had begged Al to spar with him to get the extra weight off.

"It took us days to convince you that it was the automail and that you had actually lost some weight during the surgery!" Winry exploded into laughter, voice increasing in volume with every word. Ed was glowering at her and was unconsciously rubbing his right arm.

"It wasn't funny! I was traumatized," he spat, turning red at the memory.

"Sure. You'll take down soulless Homunculi and alchemists trying to blow up the country, get in death duels almost every day, and otherwise put your life on the line, and not even blink. But gaining weight? Oh, no, that'll really put the shivers down your spine and make you hide under the covers." The opportunity was too good to pass up, and the jibe made Edward look away and sink into a sullen silence.

"Ed, you know I'm joking with you right?" she asked quietly when the blonde didn't make a move to shoot an insult back.

The alchemist snorted and ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, I know. I'm just being angsty and depressed," he replied, giving her a half-hearted smirk.

Winry sighed, leaning back in her chair. "You really need to stop doing that. Or give some sort of warning," she muttered and Ed snorted.

"I'll keep that in mind. Hey, is there anymore food?"

Winry gawked, eyes widened. "Ed, you just had three bowls of beef stew!" she exclaimed, wondering if Ed had more than one stomach. _Maybe he's a cow chimera. That would explain a lot._

Ed scowled. "So? I'm still hungry!"

"You know, they should have called you the Vacuum Cleaner Alchemist or something. You sure eat like one."

"WHAT?! Machine junkie!"

"Alchemy freak!"

Outside the door, Al paused with his hand on the knob. He quietly pulled it back into his pocket and left, glad he had not walked in on the two arguing. He didn't know what exactly they were bickering about, but it didn't matter; he wasn't putting any part of his body between those two when they were going at it.

**I'm not too pleased with this chapter. The ending flopped and Ed seemed a little... mood-swingy. Eh. I just really wanted to get the "Vacuum Cleaner Alchemist" part in there xD**


	13. Kiss

**Sorry for the wait! This one got a little long, but I think it was worth it ;) And I wrote a couple of other chapters (I think 23 and 40, can't remember), too. And for those of you who are sick and tired of the hospital- don't worry! I think it's only 2 chapters more before Ed heads over to Rush Valley!**

13. Kiss

He was alone with her, for the first time since what Ed had dubbed Rape Night. Someone had always tagged along with Winry when she came since then- Al, Hawkeye, Havoc, and even Izumi (he didn't care to remember that particular visit).

But now it was just the two of them: Ed, as always, stuck in the hospital bed, while Winry puttered around the room, moving things and cleaning up. What was it with women and cleaning? It was all they did whenever they were visiting him, either arranging the books or dusting or changing the flowers out.

At least there was an agenda so there wouldn't be many awkward silences. Today was Automail Measurement Day, as Winry called it, and Ed could practically hear the capital letters in the words. Winry had almost her entire workshop in the room, in Ed's opinion, and he couldn't figure out why she had needed the drill to be shipped from Rush Valley.

They weren't putting in the automail _now_, were they?

"Ready, Edward?" Winry asked as she emptied her toolbox onto the table and began sorting through the various instruments.

Ed raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I guess. What are we starting with?"

"Your legs. Lay down."

The alchemist obliged, lying on top of the sheets on his back as Winry came over with the tape measurer, a pencil, and several pieces of paper to take notes with. Her brow furrowed as she began taking measurements, the pencil clamped between her jaws.

Ed was fine with it until she stuck her hand up his boxer leg to gauge the damage done by Pride. He couldn't help but feel a little violated as she began to finger the healed-over hole where his femur had been ripped out of its socket at his pelvis.

"Win? Do you really have to put your hand there?" he asked nervously as he noticed just how close her hand was certain body parts. Sure, she'd seen said parts before, but the circumstances had been different, and every once in a while, a nurse would walk in for some reason or another.

The situation was awkward at best.

Winry scowled at him, the pencil still stuck between her teeth. She gave him a quick nod and rolled up the fabric to get a clear view of the area, measuring tape at the ready.

Edward fought back a whimper and stared at the ceiling. The patterns in the ceiling tiles were quite interesting, actually. Much more interesting than what was going on around his certain manly areas.

"Alright, we're done," Winry said, half an hour later, as she stood up to crack her back. "You make this more difficult than it should be, Ed. Couldn't you have left your femur intact? It would have been a heck of a lot easier to get your measurements."

Ed frowned. "Alright, I'll be sure to tell that to whoever's trying to kill me next time I get into a fight," he grumbled, sitting up and stretching a little to pop his back. "Are we done? I want to eat lunch."

Winry looked up from her notes, which she had been circling certain numbers and doing some quick math in the margins. "No, I want to check your arm. I might have to get you a bigger one."

A bigger arm meant he had grown, so Ed happily flopped back down, automail arm stretched out.

As Winry worked, Ed found himself staring at her. She was so concentrated on the arm that she didn't notice and Ed was, for once, grateful for her obsession; he could watch her without feeling like an idiot.

She slowly worked her way up his arm, starting at his fingers and moving up to his shoulder and port. The mechanic was examining the inner wires of the arm when the idea came to Ed's mind, completely (in his opinion) unbidden:

_Kiss her. She's right there._

Ed felt himself blush and quickly looked away, eyes twitching. No, she was working. He'd probably get a screwdriver in the mouth if he tried that. But his hormones were screaming that she'd love it, and Ed found himself thankful that Winry was nowhere near his legs at the moment.

The internal battle raged for the next half hour as Winry tinkered with his arm. Ed was so focused on arguing with himself that Winry's declaration of "Finished!" caught him off-guard and he jumped.

"Ed? You okay? You look kind of flushed," Winry asked, bending over him. Ed only turned a deeper shade of scarlet and mumbled something about the room being too hot.

Winry frowned and placed a hand on Ed's forehead. "You don't have a fever," she muttered, then leaned in, grabbing Ed's head between her hands to examine his eyes. They were almost nose-to-nose, and the close proximity was too much for Ed.

The hormones won.

His lips smashed (that was the only way to describe the gracelessness of it) into hers and after an initial squeal of surprise, Winry was kissing back. He ended up on his back on the bed, Winry on top. With a little prodding, Ed had successfully gotten his tongue in her mouth and vice versa.

Ed's body decided it needed air more than it needed the kissing and he broke off, grinning roguishly. "Shall we go further?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Winry's eyes lit up and she smirked. "Naughty, aren't you, Colonel Elric?"

"Only for you," Ed shot back, hands sliding down from Winry's shoulders to her waist.

"Am I interrupting something?"

Winry jumped at the voice, her knee connecting with Ed's crotch. He howled and rolled onto his side, curling into a ball. He felt Winry get off the bed and wring her hands nervously. "Um, I was checking his automail, Dr. Reich," she said, giving the doctor a weak smile.

_Yeah, checking my automail_, Ed thought dryly. _Because I totally have automail in my mouth._

**Hehe, the classic "I was checking his automail!" excuse. Backfired a little there, Winry. I don't think Ed has an automail tongue xD**


	14. Muscular Training

**Chapter 14! Just a heads-up: School's starting in a little more than a week, so I've got lots of orientation and stuff to do- like finish summer reading. Next chapter might be a little late D:**

14. Muscular Training

"Do I really have to have an audience to do this?" Ed asked irritably, glaring at the two doctors in the room.

One shifted nervously, having been on the receiving end of Ed's temper once too many times in the recent weeks. The other, Dr. Reich, simply sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Colonel Elric, if you can do the exercises without any signs of damage to your wounds, you will be free to leave the hospital tomorrow."

The statement that release was in sight cheered Edward up considerably and he cracked the knuckles in the left hand. "Right. So what do I start with?"

He, Winry, Al, Dr. Reich, and the other doctor were in the "therapy room" at Central's military hospital. There were dozens of pieces of workout equipment, various weights, and scales- anything that a person would need to do a proper workout.

Clad in nothing but his famous blue boxers, hair tied up in a ponytail, Ed was seated on one of the more deadly looking workout machines. There were too many hanging weights and bars for his liking and Ed wondered if he wanted to know what some of them were for. To him, it looked more like a torture instrument used back in the Dark Ages, just a lot cleaner.

And so he began, stretching in ways that he probably wouldn't have been able to do if he still had both his legs, the other four in the room watching for any signs of his wounds reopening.

It was nothing short of embarrassing, and Ed only focused on the fact that he would be out of the hospital tomorrow if all went well.

An hour later, it was all done, and Ed heaved a sigh of relief as Al tossed him a towel. The doctors were conversing over in the corner, going over their notes quietly, so Ed mopped up the sweat as Al and Winry took seats beside him. Or at least, Winry did. Al seemed to enjoy the fact that he was taller than Ed in his human body, and usually stood to remind Ed of that fact.

"I'm impressed, Ed," Winry said as he dried off his back. "I didn't think you'd still have the muscle tone that you do after being bedridden for so long."

Edward snorted. "Please, you've seen my muscles work plenty of times since I've been in the hospital," he replied, smirking at her.

But instead of rolling her eyes and hitting him, as he had expected, she was blushing and glancing nervously over his shoulder at Alphonse. Ed tilted his head, frowning. Why was she looking at Al like that? He had been talking about the infamous Rape Night and-

Oh. Rape Night. Al didn't know about that.

_Shit, _Ed thought, eyes widening. That was something he'd rather his little brother not be enlightened about quite yet.

"Brother, what are you talking about?" Al asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes at Ed as the elder turned around slowly, a big, cheesy grin on his face.

"Oh, you know, she did that Ping-Pong thing with me and she was checking my automail-" Ed could have sworn he heard Dr. Reich snort in amusement- "the other day. I don't wear a shirt for that, you know."

Al didn't seem the least bit convinced, and he crossed his arms across his chest, golden eyes glancing from Winry to Ed and back again. Ed could practically hear the wheels working in Al's head.

"Hey, Al. Get me some water, would you?" he asked, giving the younger Elric a pitiable look. Al obliged and scooted out of the room in search of a bottle of water. As soon as the door closed, Winry slammed a dumbbell into the side of Ed's head, knocking him off the bench.

"Ed! You can't be making little hints like that when there are other people in the room!" she hissed, glaring down at him. Ed knew it would have been much louder, but the two doctors were glancing at them, obviously wondering if their patient now had a concussion on top of everything else.

For his part, Ed was curled up on the floor, clutching the side of his head. "Winry! That hurt! You're going to land me back in intensive care!" he spat, glowering back. "Now help me up."

She did, and when he was seated again, her hands went to her hips for a telling-off. Ed fought back a groan- she still had the dumbbell in her hand. "I don't think you want half the world to know about That Night, so I would stop hinting at it, if I were you," she whispered, fingering the weight lovingly.

Ed swallowed. "Yeah, I figured that out now. But if you hadn't blushed like that, he wouldn't have thought anything of it!" he retaliated, fists clenched.

They scowled at each other in silence until Al came back, armed with the water bottle. Ed took it gratefully- he really was thirsty- and downed half of it with one gulp. But Al was still staring at him.

"_What_, Al?" he asked tightly, hoping that his younger brother wasn't going to pick up the conversation from where he had left off.

Alphonse bit his lip, as if he was wondering if he really wanted to know the answer to whatever he was going to ask. "Brother, why's the side of your face purple?"

Ed gawked, hand flying to his face as Winry snickered. "No reason, Al. Your brother was just being himself and had to be smacked. I don't have a wrench on me, so I improvised," she replied, brandishing the dumbbell.

Ed didn't think he'd ever seen Al look so terrified before.

**Dumbbells: Winry's new weapon. Dun dun dun! Will Ed ever come clean about Rape Night with Al? Or will the younger Elric learn about it in a not-so-nice fashion? Only time will tell! **


	15. Young Leaves Mark

**Arg! I'm getting worse and worse at updating this D: My excuse is school. I have two AP classes and Trig this semester, and I'm already losing my mind. **

**That, and I kind of angsted myself out while writing Ch.4 of Tenebrae. It took me a while to get back into the humor/love groove I have in this story. **

15. Young Leaves Mark

Ed drummed his fingers impatiently on the table and glared balefully at Mustang, mentally willing the General to read faster.

Instead, Mustang glanced up from the papers and scowled. "Edward, I know you want out, but making all that noise isn't going to help me get through this any quicker."

"Why do you have to read it, anyway? You already know what happened to me!" Ed retorted, not caring that he was starting to whine. "I want to get out of this place!"

"And the hospital staff is eager to get rid of you, too. You left quite a mark, from what I've heard," the General replied calmly, raising an eyebrow at the younger alchemist's pleading tone. "But paperwork is paperwork, and I want to make sure they did everything they were supposed to and they're not just shortchanging you to get you out."

"I'M NOT SHORT! I'M JUST MISSING MY LEGS!"

"Fullmetal, that wasn't what I meant and you know it."

"You implied it!"

"I did not! You need to stop freaking out at every little thing-"

"WHO'S A SUPER-SMALL SPECK THAT CAN BE CRUSHED BY A NEEDLE?!"

"YOU!"

"WHAT?! I AM NOT SMALL, YOU BASTARD!"

Roy decided to leave the fight at that and went back to skimming the release forms for the Fullmetal Alchemist. "I'm glad you'll be in Rush Valley for three years," he grumbled darkly, glaring at Edward, who had been flailing furiously in his wheelchair through the entire argument, and was now huffing indignantly. Maybe Edward would decide to move in with his mechanic. That would be nice, and Havoc and Breda could stop spending the workday plotting ways to get the two to admit their love to each other.

Ed scowled at him. "You know, I am, too. Won't have to see your ugly mug for a long time. I think it will do me some good."

The General flipped to the last page with a snort. "Personally, I think you're too far gone for any help," he said calmly, eyes whizzing over the page. Five minutes ago, he had been actually reading the summary of Ed's recovery, but now he didn't give a hoot if they forgot something and the blonde keeled over dead on the train that afternoon.

He signed his name on the bottom of the form- being Ed's superior officer was more like being his father at times, especially since he was the only one legally authorized to discharge Ed from the hospital- and tossed the pen onto the table. "There, you're free," he said, standing up quickly.

Ed looked up from his stewing. "Really?" he asked, looking surprised.

Roy nodded. "Really. Let's get you out of here before you dent anymore faces and scare the interns away from their future careers."

The blonde scowled and led the way out of the room, blowing down the hallway in his wheelchair as Roy followed, the paperwork in hand. He noted that a couple of interns made sure to hide any needles they might be holding and gave the Fullmetal Alchemist a wide berth in the hall. Yes, the young alchemist sure had left a mark on Central's military hospital.

Out in the lobby, Ed paused as Roy turned in the paperwork at the desk. Ed tilted his head when the brunette receptionist blushed and Roy smirked.

Mustang was hitting on her, wasn't he? The blonde grinned evilly. Oh, he was going to tell Hawkeye, yes he was.

He was still mulling over his exact plan of action when Mustang came over and gave the wheelchair a sharp kick. "I thought you wanted to get out of here? The car's waiting."

"Yeah, yeah. Get the door, would you?" Ed asked irritably, rolling himself towards said door. He really hoped he would see Hawkeye before he left- busting the General was something he wanted to do in person. Phones were just so impersonal.

Roy held the door open with his foot and raised an eyebrow at the blonde's expression. It could only be described as plotting, and that was never a good thing for anyone. _Hope it's not me,_ he thought, but as Ed leered at him, that hope went out the window. He was toast for doing something, though he couldn't even begin to wonder what for. The short jokes? No, Ed looked too calculating for that.

**What is with me and floppy endings? Sheesh. Stuck a little Royai in there, too! ;D To the train station next chapter! Who knows what kind of mayhem will result? **


	16. Hypnosis: A Sticker For New Car Drivers

**Eep! I'm really getting bad at this updating stuff D: And don't look for any updates for a while. Hurricane Gustav is looking like it's going to hit where I live and so my family and I are evacuating tonight, around midnight. It could be anywhere from a Category 3 to a 5 (which is as bad as they come) when it hits, and that could mean no house. Which would be really bad. Then there's Hanna, which could also cause some trouble... Ugh. **

**But enough griping! Enjoy!**

16. Hypnosis: A Sticker For New Car Drivers

Ed carefully made his way down the ramp and to the curb. The blonde frowned as he surveyed the street and turned to give Mustang, who had clomped down the stairs behind him, a confused scowl.

"Where's the car? I thought you said it was here."

For his part, Roy looked just as bemused as Edward. "I'm not sure. I told Breda to go get it before I went to sign your papers. He should have been here by now," he replied, pulling out his pocket watch to check the time; it had been almost forty-five minutes.

"Maybe a dog was sniffing it. Breda wouldn't have gone anywhere near it if that happened," suggested Ed, who looked pretty miffed about having to wait on the curb of one of Central's busiest streets, where people were gawking openly at the sight of the legless Fullmetal Alchemist. "I'm going to miss the train," he groused.

"No you won't. It doesn't leave for another hour."

"Then please explain to me why I have to get there so early."

Roy took a deep breath to keep himself from getting into another argument with the blonde. As tempting as it was, they were in public now. A general and his colonel did not bicker like a married couple. "Just incase something like this happened, we would have plenty of time. And with you, nothing happens according to plan," explained calmly, like he was talking to a six-year-old.

Ed looked ready to retaliate, but the screeching of tires caught the attention of both the alchemists. They looked up in time to see a car come tearing around the corner, almost on two wheels. The smell of burning rubber filled the air as the car slammed on its breaks, skidding to a halt right in front of them.

Roy and Ed stared dumbly at the military car, not quite sure what to make of the situation. The back door opened and Breda tumbled out, looking utterly terrified and ready to lose his lunch. He mumbled what sounded like "kidnapped me!" before pushing past them, into the hospital.

"…What was _that _about?" Roy asked no one in particular, staring after Breda's retreating figure. The General shrugged and turned back to the car, and once again met a situation he wasn't expecting.

Leaning against the car, keys in hand, was Winry. She was smirking down at Ed, who looked as scared as Breda and was slowly shaking his head, as if denying something.

"There is no way! You're not old enough to drive!" he exclaimed, pushing the wheelchair back a couple of feet.

The smirk grew and Roy found himself relieved that he was not in the line of fire.

"We're practically the same age, Ed. You're just a couple of weeks older than me," Winry replied, raising an eyebrow.

Ed frowned. "So who taught you? Wasn't Pinako."

The mechanic shook her head. "A nice young man down the street from my shop in Rush Valley taught me while I was working on my apprenticeship," was the innocent reply.

Roy had to press his hand over his mouth to hold back the snicker. Ed's reaction was almost instantaneous. His grip on the wheelchair tightened and his eyes narrowed to slits at the mention of the "nice young man".

"He was in the car with you?" Ed asked through clenched teeth.

Winry seemed to be enjoying herself immensely. "Of course, it's not like he could jog next to the car and teach me by yelling at me through the window." She rolled her eyes. "He sat in the passenger seat every time we drove. You know, so he could be close enough to grab the wheel if anything happened."

Ed looked ready to explode. Roy felt a little bad for the wheelchair; Ed's automail hand was slowly bending the metal in his grip. The blonde was gnashing his teeth together in an effort to control himself. "I'm not sure the wheel was what he was hoping to grab," he muttered under his breath, glancing fleetingly at Winry's chest.  
"What was that, Edward?" Winry asked dangerously. Roy doubted she had heard exactly what Ed had said, but the look on the alchemist's face was enough to tell that it hadn't been anything nice.

"How'd you get the car? Stole it from Breda?" Ed asked, ignoring the question.

Winry brightened. "No, no. I just…. Persuaded him to let me drive," she said, shooting a glance to the passenger seat. Roy followed her gaze and fought back a wince as he caught sight of the wrench lying in the seat. Poor Breda.

Ed had obviously seen it too and swallowed heavily.

Winry then skipped around to the passenger door, opened it, grabbed the wrench and pointed at Ed. "In you go! We don't want to miss the train."

Roy watched Ed back up even further. "Oh, hell no. You are _not _driving me to the station!" he exclaimed. "I've had enough near-death experiences, thanks."

The situation was too much for Roy. He grabbed the back of Ed's wheelchair and pushed it next to the car, ignoring the screeches from the blonde.

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

"Helping you into the car, Fullmetal. Miss Rockbell is right- you'll miss the train."

"Fuck the train! I'm going to end up back in the hospital if she drives!" Ed howled, trying to claw his way past Roy, who had dumped him gracelessly in the seat of the car. Winry was already revving the engine.

"Don't be ridiculous. Have a nice drive with your girlfriend."

"She's not my-!" But Roy slammed the door shut before he could hear the rest of the sentence. As soon as he stepped back from the car, it shot off, screeching around the corner and out of sight.

**Gotta love new car drivers. I'm one of them xD Wish me luck with the hurricane and I'll see you guys sometime in the future!**


	17. Duty of Siblings

**Hey everyone! I'm back from my over-a-week-long-exile that had no internet whatsoever D: But I did have some time to write, so I got this chapter done! Gustav didn't tear the house apart, thank God. We had a window leak, and this one room has mold all over the wall with the window, but we just have to get new sheetrock and a new window. One of the trees in our front yard got ripped out of the ground, so I get to chainsaw it apart this afternoon! Woo! A fence is leaning, but still standing, and we lost a lot of food. But the house is still liveable and the toilets work. So all's good. **

**This chapter gets a little... rauchy, I daresay. Conversations of rape and sex in here! You have been warned.**

17. Duty of Siblings

Despite Ed's misgivings about Winry's driving skills, they made it to the train station without any need to return to the hospital. Winry pulled up the curb, where Al was waiting, lounging against a small pile of suitcases and bags.

The younger Elric opened the passenger door and Edward practically tumbled out, white as a sheet.

"You alright, Brother?" Al asked, obviously concerned.

"She tried to kill me, Al! Kill me, I tell you!" Ed rasped, clinging to Al's legs and trying to scoot away from Winry, who pulling the spare wheelchair out of the trunk. She gave him a "don't be ridiculous" look and pushed the chair in his direction.

Al decided not to ask.

Five minutes later, and the trio was on the train. Ed had claimed a whole bench for himself and had sprawled out, one hand hanging off the side. Al and Winry were left with no choice but to share the other bench.

An hour into the ride, Winry had bumped into a mechanic friend and the two were happily jabbering away about the use of coating joints with a thin layer of rubber to alleviate pressure on the rest of the limb.

"Look at them. They're practically touching!" Ed growled, glaring over the seat at the brunette man, who was now pouring over blueprints for a leg with Winry.

Al snorted from behind his newspaper. "Stop being so possessive, Brother. Winry's allowed to have friends," he said calmly.

"I never said anything about them not being friends. But he's coming on to her, I can tell." Ed's grip on the seat tightened as he scowled at the pair a couple of seats away.

"Since when did you care about Winry's relationships with other men?" Al asked, glancing at Ed over the top of the paper.

Ed ignored the question. "You'd think she'd have enough decency to remember Rape Night and how all of that is _mine_. Not his," Edward hissed under his breath as the brunette's hand came alarmingly close to Winry's butt.

But it wasn't quiet enough. Al practically tore his newspaper in half at Ed's claim to Winry's body. "WHAT?" he shrieked, oblivious to the stares that came their way. Ed swore and clamped a hand over Al's mouth, who was staring at him with horror.

"Al, shut up! Someone will hear you!" _Crap, he wasn't supposed to find out about this!_

Al obliged, but only to lower his voice so the two of them could talk privately. "You _raped_ Winry?!" he asked, hands curling into fists.

"No! She raped me!" Al didn't look convinced. "Look, she threw a box on condoms at me, and the next thing I know, she's half-naked on the bed!"

"And?" Al asked testily.

"…And it was pretty damn good if I do say so myself. We did it pretty well for not having any past experience."

"Brother! That's disgusting!" Al wailed, clamping his hands over his ears and scooting away from Ed.

"Please. That's how humans reproduce, Al."

Al's eyes got even bigger. "You got her pregnant?" he asked, almost wonderingly.

Ed snorted. "No. We used the condoms. Winry even made sure that it secure and everything, once I got it into-"

"Stop! I don't want to hear!" whimpered Al, who had curled up into the fetal position in the corner of the seat, hands still clamped over his ears.

"You know, I might as well give you the 'Birds and the Bees' talk while we're on this subject. I don't think you ever got it, and now that you're back in the flesh, I'm sure Mei's all ready to go," mused Ed, raising an eyebrow at his brother's tormented expression.

Al had turned a deep shade of red. "I don't know what you're talking about," he mumbled, staring resolutely at the floor.

"Knock it off, Al. Even your virgin mind would have noticed that she's been all over you since Day One. How sweet, love at first sight."

Al frowned and glanced at his brother. "Well, she was after you and then she saw how short you- Brother, put the armrest back the way it was! You shouldn't transmute furniture into weapons!"

Ed growled and pointed the transmuted mace at Al threateningly for a moment longer before restoring the armrest to its original state. "Then lay off the short jibes."

They rode in silence for a while, Ed constantly turning around to glare at the two mechanics who hadn't noticed the exchange between the two brothers. The brunette, whose name seemed to be Jared, had actually pulled out a leg that he was working on. The two were tinkering away at it and bandying ideas excitedly.

"That's just disgusting," Ed muttered, shaking his head slowly at the pair. "What a bunch of geeks."

Al was still trying to get over the fact that neither his brother nor his best friend were virgins anymore. He continued to glance between Edward and Winry, eyes wide, then would suddenly clench his eyes shut as if to force an image out of his head.

Ed smirked widely; he was pretty sure he knew what that image was.

"Oh, Al? It gets kind of hot when you really start getting into it, so you might want to turn a fan on before you start," Edward suggested suddenly, grinning mischievously as Al's tormented and horrified expression deepened.

"Ed! Stop it!" he whimpered, shaking his head.

"Bring some air freshener, too. I'm sure Winry has some left over from when we used it. She'll let you have it." Al almost howled at the information, but Ed was enjoying himself immensely. It may seem cruel, but Al would thank him later.

Hopefully.

Ed was all ready to give another piece of helpful advice, but Al cut him off. "Brother?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are you telling me all of this?"

"Because that's what siblings do, Al. You know, look out for each other and everything."

Al raised an eyebrow. "So telling me about your newly-found sex life counts as a sibling duty?"

"Well, you gotta learn about it some time. Might as well learn from someone who was successful at it," Ed replied, grinning lopsidedly.

The younger Elric groaned and buried his head in his hands. "Then do me a favor and stop acting like my sibling for the rest of the train ride."

**...Hehe. I should almost be ashamed of this chapter, but I'm not. You gotta love it- Jealous! and Horny!Ed all rolled into one. If I had somehow gotten Papa!Ed in there, it would have been perfect. And now Al knows of Rape Night and really wishes he didn't. Poor guy.**


	18. Straight Perm

**Geez, guys. I dunno what to say about my lack of updates. I'm really trying, but between dodging hurricanes and passing 11th grade, free time doesn't seem to happen anymore. And Dancing With the Stars starts on Monday. So even less time now. **

**...Yes, I love ballroom dancing. Deal with it. xD **

**This chapter is a sequel to "King"- chapter 9. I probably should have left that chapter alone, but I loved it so much I had to write more angst. **

18. Straight Perm

Winry hadn't realized she'd fallen asleep until she felt someone gently poking her side and she blearily cracked open an eye. She frowned, trying to figure out why she was curled in a ball and in Edward's lap.

Wait, what?

She let out a slight squeak and sat up, feeling the heat of a blush rushing to her face. Edward was staring at her, one eyebrow cocked. His cheeks were red, but not from a blush- despite the sun being up, it was still bitterly cold and the wind had picked up some time during the night.

"About time you woke up. I've been poking you for five minutes. They've got breakfast ready down in the shack," he said, jerking a thumb over his shoulder.

"Oh," Winry replied, but made no move to get off of the alchemist. It wasn't until Ed's right leg twitched slightly that she realized that he was in the exact same position that he had been when she had drifted off. It must have snowed during the night, too; Ed's hair was damp and the bangs were sticking out, frozen from where they had ended up when he had undoubtedly run a hand through them. Despite his best efforts to hide it, Winry could pick out flickers of nervousness and pain in his eyes. He must have been stiff as hell.

"Oh!" she repeated, a little louder, and she scooted off Ed's lap and onto the roof next to him. He let out a low moan of relief and stretched, back popping loudly. "Sorry, Ed. You should have woken me up earlier," she apologized as he began to swing his legs to get the blood flowing again.

He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, putting the bangs into more disarray. Winry wondered if he even realized he was doing it. It _was_ kind of cute. "Nah, you were sound asleep. Seemed a shame to wake you up," he replied, shrugging. "Besides, one of us might as well be rested."

Winry blinked, confused. "You didn't sleep?"

Ed rolled over to look at her. "No. I was on guard the whole night," he replied, as if that were overly obvious and she should have picked up on it earlier.

"The _whole _night?"

Edward nodded warily.

Winry growled. "Why did it have to be you? You're the one who's going to spending the day fighting! You should be saving up your energy! Doesn't anyone around here have any common sense?"

"-Winry-"

"Seriously! You're the one that has the most knowledge about what's going on. If you're tired going into this fight-"

"-Hey, Win, hold on-"

"- You might slip up! No offense, but you're not immortal, Ed! Something bad could happen, and-"

"-I'm not tired-"

"-And you could end up dead!" Winry broke off her rant, fists clenched as the two stared at each other. Ed looked shocked at the outburst and incredibly uncomfortable. One hand unconciously clenched his side, close to where he had been impaled a couple of months ago.

Winry had to look away before she started crying. Ed had fufilled his promise about her next tears being tears of joy, but that didn't mean that she was allowed to cry over everything now. She had to be strong, especially now.

"I've gone into fights on less sleep than this," Ed said quietly. Winry glanced up, but he was looking away, staring at his right hand.

Winry scowled. "But they weren't as big and important as this one is, Ed," she replied and he flinched at the truth of her words.

He glanced at her quickly before snorting and tossing his hair back over his shoulder- it was coming free of its confinement. "Doesn't matter now. What's done is done," he said roughly, getting up and sliding off the roof into the snow below. "You coming? We should get in there before the food gets cold," he said, hands on hips.

The mechanic nibbled on her lip as she nodded. The cold made the tears sting more than normal, and she seemed to have managed to alienate Ed for the time being. It wouldn't be permanent, but if this was the last time she ever saw him again-

No. She wasn't going down that road.

She slithered off the roof, but stumbled a little as she landed. Ed grabbed her arm to steady her, but it had been instinctive. His eyes were still hard from the arguement and he let go of her quickly before stalking off to the entrance of the shack.

"Ed. Wait."

The alchemist paused, turning around. He looked like he wanted to apologize, but wasn't sure what exactly to apologize for. Winry closed the distance between them, nervous. Without a word, she reached out and pulled the hair tie, letting his hair lose.

"Win, what are you doing?" he asked, as she began to finger-comb his bangs back into shape.

"Let me braid your hair," she whispered, stepping behind him and wrapping the mass of golden hair around her hand.

He didn't object.

**Angst. I love it. 3**

**I took the last part with the hair from that episode in the anime where Winry gets all emotional about Ed and Al leaving again and insists on braiding his hair. I thought it was very EdWin and had to use a little bit of it. **

**Tell me if there are any errors, I had to type this chapter at school and the Word program had the spellchecking disabled. Bleh. Sorry if the story's a little disjointed, too; I had issues getting my thoughts together. **


	19. Rest One’s Head on a Person’s Lap

**Wow, guys. I'm really sorry for not updating, but life's utter chaos right now. And Brisingr came out. And midterms are next week. And I'm a lazy bum. -grins sheepishly-**

**So to make up for it, I wrote a fluffy chapter! Hooray! **

19. Rest One's Head on a Person's Lap

Edward was very pleased when Jared got off the train later that day. He was, from what Ed had been able to hear, making a short trip to see an aunt before heading back to Rush Valley and his shop.

Winry had insisted that he come visit so they could talk about his newest model for elbows- she claimed she wanted to help him perfect it and maybe pick up some ideas for her own models.

Ed hoped Jared's train de-railed and exploded on the way back to Rush Valley.

By now, two days into the three-day trip to Rush Valley, it was just the three of them. The train car they were in had emptied out rather quickly at the Dyras stop; the town was having some kind of bizarre festival that involved body paint and sandals that seemed to be very popular.

Al had migrated to the seat behind Ed and Winry and was sound asleep; Ed snickered as Al let out a moan and mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like "Mei" under his breath.

"I knew it," Ed smirked, looking utterly smug pleased with himself.

Winry, on the bench across from Ed, looked up from the book she was reading. "Knew what?"

"That Al's crushing on that bean girl."

The mechanic rolled her eyes. "You're just picking up on this, Mr. Love Expert?"

Ed huffed. "No, I was just waiting for proof. I'm a scientist, it's how I work," he added defensively when she didn't look convinced. "Oh, um, Al knows about Rape Night." Ed almost winced as he spat the confession out; he'd said it quickly enough that Winry might not even pick up on it.

"Oh, that's-" Winry froze, her grip tightening on the book. Ed whimpered and pushed himself as far away as he could in the seat. "HE WHAT?!"

Ed held out his hands defensively. "He wasn't supposed to hear! I was talking to myself. It's not my fault he's an eaves-dropper!" he exclaimed defensively. Winry jumped to her feet, wrench magically appearing in her hand. "Please don't kill me!"

Winry scowled, fingering the weapon. She glanced over the seat at Al, who was still dead to world. "Looks like there won't be any witnesses to your murder," she growled, raising the wrench like it was a hammer.

From his position, Ed couldn't help but notice how much of a chest she had developed before the wrench came slamming down on his skull.

"Be thankful it wasn't a dumbbell," she said icily, wiping the wrench clean and shoving it back into her pocket as Ed twitched limply on the seat. "Stupid shrimp."

Five hours later, Ed recovered enough to try sitting up. It was around sunset and Winry was leaning against the window, watching the sunset. "Look who finally decided to wake up," she teased, raising an eyebrow.

Ed scowled and rubbed the injured side of his head. "Yeah, well, it's not my fault that metal objects are mysteriously attracted to my head," he shot back. "Did I miss dinner?"

Winry pushed a plate of food in front of him. Without a word, Ed grabbed the fork and went to work. After five minutes, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and leaned back against the seat, eyes closed. "That was good," he mumbled, feeling sleepy despite his five-hour "nap".

There was some shuffling and Ed cracked open an eye to see Winry slipping into the seat next to him. She leaned her head on his shoulder and watched the sun set quietly.

Despite his lack of knowledge in the romance department, Ed knew that talking would probably kill the mood; Winry just wanted some together-time. Or something like that. Screw terminology. Besides, Ed had a tendency to say stupid things when he opened his mouth.

Silence was good.

Ed lost track of the time, but it was well after the sun had set that he noticed the very obvious change in position. Winry had, some time during the ride, gone from his shoulder down to his lap. She was curled on it, one arm wrapped around his remaining stump to hold it in place.

And she was asleep.

Edward felt his jaw fell open. Usually he was the one falling asleep all the time. But he didn't really mind the role-reversal _that _much. The fullness from dinner came back and Ed drowsily shifted a little, trying to get more comfortable in the cushions without waking Winry.

His mission proved fruitless- really, the seats were as soft as granite- and Ed settled for just watching Winry sleep.

Later that night, Al woke up from his very pleasurable dream. He smirked to himself as he recounted it, and then realized exactly what he and Mei had been doing in that field. Al groaned and felt his stomach clench. Damn Ed and his "advice"! Feeling a little queasy, Al darted to the bathroom. He flew by Ed and Winry so fast he didn't see the two of them, sound asleep. Winry, curled in Ed's lap, clinging to his leg and Ed, with one arm draped over Winry's body and his chest exposed.

**Oh my, what _was_ Al doing with Mei in that field? And I love it when Ed's shirt rides up when he sleeps. So I stuck in there xD**

**Cookies if you can spot the anime quote!**


	20. Contract

**Wow, I'm on a roll with updating! xD Now if I can crank out another chapter of Tenebrae before the week is done, it'll be a record. **

**No real EdWin in here; it's a little brotherly time. (And if you think there's Elricest in here, sorry. No.)**

**Hooray! The long awaited arrival at Rush Valley! -dramatic music-**

* * *

20. Contract

It was three days later when Ed finally got off the train. The train had made it to the rush Valley Station late at night, and the platform was empty, much to Ed's relief. He had a feeling that as soon as he got off the train, some creepy old man would try and convince him to let him make a new leg for him or something.

Instead, it was the just the three of them and their pile of luggage.

"Winry! Winry, dear, it's so good to see you!"

Ed tensed, not wanting to turn around at the voice. Why in the world was Garfiel there?

"Mister Garfiel! You remembered to come pick us up!" Winry called, grinning widely. The large man gave his apprentice a hug while he went on and on about how worried he was, but he was so proud of her for doing what she thought was right, and it was a good thing she came back- her customers were getting annoyed with having to wait so long!

The man gave Al a cheerful wave but shot a glare at Edward before gathering the bags and leading the way out of the station. Ed raised an eyebrow and looked questioningly at Al, but the younger Elric only shrugged.

Outside the station, the group piled into Garfiel's car and started down the quiet street. In the front seat, the two mechanics chatted away as Winry was filled in on all the happenings in Rush Valley while she had been gone.

The two Elrics in the back were completely ignored. Ed was muttering about what a bunch of geeks Winry and Garfiel were while Al was rubbing his temples, trying to repress the images from his most current dream (it had been him and Mei and a waterfall this time).

Finally, Al leaned back in the seat and poked Ed's side. "Brother?"

"Hmm?"

"Um, I don't really know how to tell you this," Al muttered. The younger Elric cracked his knuckles nervously and Ed raised an eyebrow. The only time Al ever got this nervous was when girls were involved…

"Al, did you get Mei pregnant?"

"NO!" Al turned a deep scarlet and looked scandalized. "What gave you that idea?"

Ed shrugged. "I don't know, maybe because last night it really sounded like you were getting it on with her."

Al froze. "What do you mean? Mei's not here."

"I know. But you talk in your sleep Al."

"…Oh." Silence. "But it kind of is about Mei."

The elder Elric shifted in his seat. Sounded like it was time for a Woman Talk. "What about her?"

Al ran a hand through his hair. "Well, I'm leaving for Xing in a couple of days. I'm going with Mei and Ling back to Xing to work on the peace agreements and stuff since we have the new government."

Ed stared at Al. "You're not staying here?" he couldn't keep a slight trace of hurt from creeping into his voice- he had assumed that Al would be there for the surgery, since he had made such a stink about not being able to be there for the first one. "And since when were you part of the military?"

Al wouldn't meet his brother's eyes. "General Mustang asked me to go the day before we left. He said he wanted a civilian to be part of the proceedings, but someone who knew what had been going on with the Homunculi and everything." He glanced nervously out the window, trying to ignore the reflection of Ed's injured look. "There will be some actual diplomats going, but it helps that I'm on good relations with someone from Xing."

Edward bit his lip. "Sure was nice of Mustang to tell me he was recruiting my brother," he muttered, making a mental note to stab Mustang in the face next time they got together. The blond sighed and leaned his head back against the window. "You're fine with it?"

"Yeah. I've always wanted to go to Xing, actually. It would be a good chance to learn their alchemy first-hand, too. I'm not sure how long it would take- the General said it could be more than a year, depending on how cooperative the Emperor-"

"Then go."

Al stopped his rambling and stared at Ed in surprise. "What?"

Ed pushed himself forward and gave his brother a lopsided grin. "If you really want to go, then go. I'm not your mother, and you're capable of making your own decisions. Just make sure not to get too caught up with all your time with Mei and sends some letters or something."

"Really?" Al looked amazed that he was getting off so easily.

Ed nodded and shoved Al's shoulder playfully. "Just do me a favor and give me and Winry time to get to Xing if you decide to get married."

"Ed!"

"Oh, and get me a sword, too. Those are nice."

"What do you want a sword for? You turn your arm into one all the time."

"They look nice mounted on the wall, Al. And I need something to stab Mustang with for even suggesting this to you. I don't want it to be my automail; blood's a pain to clean off of it. Deal?"

Al bit his lip, wondering if Ed was serious about use of the sword. "Deal," he finally said, deciding that there wasn't anything he could do about it anyway if Ed was dead-set on it and he happened to be in Xing and too far away to do anything about it.

* * *

**Alright, so the arrival wasn't that dramatic. xD But there's still plenty of time for Ed to be terrorized by the citizens, isn't there? **

**Yeah, and I kinda just wanted Al out of the picture. So I send him to Xing! I'm sure Mei won't mind in the least ;D Al probably won't either, though Mustang might start regretting his choice of diplomats. Poor guy. **


	21. Quiz

**Hey again guys! There's spoilers for ch.90 of the manga in this author's note, so skip over this if you haven't read it xD**

**OMG! That chapter was pretty gory; like 6 people died in it o__o But it makes me kinda happy- Tenebrae's kinda sorta canon now! Ed _does_ lead a raid to Father's Lair. Haha, I have psychic powers! xD Only thing I didn't do was include the naked cannibalistic human Stone people. Though now I am sure that the literary world is out to get me. All my favorite non-major characters always get maimed or killed. Seriously, it's not even funny. In FMA alone, Greed (number 1), Havoc, Barry, and now Heinkel have all gotten it. Don't even get me started on Harry Potter, Eragon, or Warriors. WHY DOES THE WORLD HATE ME SO? D: Oh well, at least Kimblee's back! -waves flags-**

21. Quiz

Ed stabbed a clump of scrambled eggs as he glared across the table at Garfiel, who was daintily making his way through his own breakfast of sausages and toast. Every time Winry would walk into the room, the man would look up and shoot Ed a very pointed look over the rim of his teacup.

The Fullmetal Alchemist was starting to wonder if rooming with Winry's mentor was such a good idea. If this kept up, he was going to have to board in a hotel, wheelchair-bound or not.

It was quiet in the kitchen; Winry was in the main work area catching up on the customers that she hadn't been able to get to while she was in Central. The thought of Winry working on someone else's automail was enough for Ed to grind his teeth in fury, but he was doing a fairly good job of keeping himself from strangling the young men who came for a tune-up.

The sharp ring of the telephone broke through the tense silence and Ed almost dropped his fork in surprise. Garfiel put down his knife and sauntered over the phone, which was in the main room, out of Ed's earshot. The blond shoved another forkful of egg into his mouth, taking the chance to mutter darkly about what a creep Garfiel was for staring at him like that.

"It's for you."

Ed looked up at Garfiel, who was standing in the doorway, frowning down at him. "Me?" he asked, swallowing the egg he had been chewing.

"Yes," replied Garfiel with a sniff. "It's General Mustang, I do believe."

Ed swore and rolled himself out of the kitchen and to the phone. He grabbed the receiver and shoved it to his ear, scowling at the wall. "What the hell do you want, Mustang? I'm not supposed to hear from you for three years."

There was a snort of amusement on the other end. "Trust me, Fullmetal, I don't want to talk to you anymore than you want to talk to me."

Ed snorted. "I seriously doubt that. Especially since I didn't just ship your brother to another country," he growled. Al had left the day before and Ed had been spending the time since then devising painful ways to extract his revenge from Mustang. Al had better get that sword soon!

Mustang sighed and Ed could almost see him rolling his eyes. "I only offered. He seemed to be on good terms with that little Xing girl, and besides, he agreed to it. He's a big boy, now, Edward."

The scolding tone Mustang was using did nothing to calm Edward down, but he bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from breaking something. "Whatever," he grumbled, tapping the armrest of his wheelchair angrily. "What did you call me for?"

"Grumman actually has a suggestion for you when your three-year leave is over," Mustang began to explain. "We're not going to hold any alchemy exams until we get the government more orderly and redo all the foreign affairs, but when we do, he'd like you to oversee the exams."

Ed would never admit how startled and flattered he was by the request. The alchemy exam was a big deal, no doubt about that. It took him a moment to find his voice again. "Like what? Do the interviews?" Ugh, he hadn't liked the interview at all.

"Not just that. You'd have to make a new test and evaluate them on their practical skills. We're also thinking of adding a requirement that research notes be submitted. That way, we can really see how they think and if they know their stuff well enough to be a State Alchemist." Mustang paused a moment. "And I don't think you'd mind having the chance to read all that information."

Edward scowled. Mustang had him there; Ed was a nerd at heart and the chance to read notes about other types of alchemy was enough to make his fingers itch. He had always wanted to look into water and air alchemy, but had never really had the chance to in the past. But the exams were always at Central HQ… "I'm not living in Central," he said bluntly. Not that he minded the city, but it was a little too urban for his liking.

Mustang let out a short laugh. "You don't have to live here, Fullmetal. Just come to town once a year for a week or so and leave."

Now they were talking. "And I still get my regular pension?" Ed asked, giving the phone a sideways glare. He wouldn't be surprised if his pay got cut because he only worked for a week or so a year.

"Of course," Mustang replied dryly. "Wouldn't want to make you actually get a _job_ or anything."

"Bastard," Edward growled, baring his teeth in a snarl even though Mustang couldn't see it.

"It's nice to talk to you, too, Edward."

"Whatever. Are we done?"

"Are you going to take the job?"

Ed already knew the answer, but he kept silent for a while just to spite Mustang. And besides, it wouldn't do to let them know that he actually wanted the job.

"…Alright, I'll take it."

"Good. Grumman will be pleased."

Ed glowered at the wall. "I didn't do this to please him."

"Of course not."

"Okay, _now _are we done? I don't want to talk to you longer than I have to."

Mustang sighed on the other end. "Yes, I suppose we are. Good-bye, Fullmetal."

"Yeah, yeah. Don't call me till my leave's over," he replied before promptly hanging up the phone and heading back into the kitchen, where, much to Ed's horror, he found that his eggs had gone cold.

"_Dammit!_"

**Oh noez! Not the eggs! xD**

**I'm going to be honest, I've always thought that Ed would take over the alchemy program and all that jazz. I mean, he's the Fullmetal Alchemist! I tried to change up the whole alchemy program with the addition of the research notes; makes it kind of like submitting a portfolio or something. So once the automail's done, we'll be heading back to Central, I suppose ;D**


	22. Emotion

**I had a really hard time writing this chapter. It's a lot deeper than a lot of the other chapters and it's actually pretty long. I'm kind of in shock that I wrote this, actually. On a happier note, chapter 91 of the manga was beyond awesome! Gooo Al! xD**

**Why is it that I always update around the release of a new manga chapter? **

22. Emotion

Winry sighed and poked the ice cream she was eating with a fork. In front of her were a couple of pages of blueprints, all covered with diagrams for Ed's new automail. The arm and the left leg were simple enough; there was nothing new about those installations. It was the right leg that had her worried- the automail port would have to be installed all the way in the hip bone, where the leg would normally connect with the pelvis.

That put the surgery dangerously close to some of Ed's more _sensitive_ areas as well as organs, such as his bladder and lower intestines. Winry rubbed her temples; she had never done a surgery like this before and as of yet, she couldn't find anyone in Rush Valley who had been really successful in doing one.

All in all, Winry was worried sick about it.

A wave of laughter broke her thoughts and she glanced towards the main room. There, Ed was playing poker with a couple of other "automailers". It had been Peninya's idea, and she had brought two of her guy friends over that night. Surprisingly, Ed had gotten along incredibly well with Julius, Peninya's current boyfriend, who was recovering from surgery for an automail hand. The other guy, Charlie, had automail up to his right knee.

From the sound of it, Ed was accusing Charlie of cheating. Peninya and Julius were prodding them along, obviously getting a kick out of Ed's multi-lingual swearing. Winry rolled her eyes and went back to her sketches; Ed wanted to get the surgery done as soon as possible so he could get out of the wheelchair.

Behind her, Garfiel made his way into the kitchen, sipping a cup of tea. "How are the plans coming, Winry?" he asked, pausing at the stove to refill his cup from the kettle.

"They're done," she replied, sighing when she realized that her words were true. There was nothing more she could do with the automail; that was the extent of what she could give to Ed. "I just hope I can do it."

The thought almost enough to send her to tears. She had everything planned out to last tiny piece, but what if she couldn't do it right? All the blueprints in the world wouldn't help her if something happened to Ed because _she _had messed up during the operation. Winry bit her fingernail, squeezing her eyes shut. Crying would not help the situation one bit.

Two hands were gentle placed on her shoulders. Garfiel let out a small tutting noise and began to rub her back. "You'll do fine, honey," he soothed, voice quiet compared to the sudden explosion of noise and laughter from the main room.

"But what if I don't?" Winry blurted, jumping up from her seat. She fisted her hands at her sides, fighting back the tears and turned away from her mentor. "What if something goes wrong? Anything could happen! I could end up damaging his organs or even messing up his spine!" Winry could tell that she was getting hysterical, but she couldn't stop the tirade now that it had started. "I could kill him!"

At that, she lost control of her tears and Winry fell back into her chair, sobbing loudly. She hadn't told anyone of her fears of the surgery; they had been building up ever since Ed had told her he wanted the operation.

"I can't do it," she moaned, burying her head in her hands. She couldn't. If something happened to Ed because of her, she would never be able to live with herself. Someone else would have to do it. There were plenty of good mechanics in Rush Valley that would be willing.

Two large hands began to massage her back. Garfiel was silent, letting Winry cry herself out. When she had finished, she sniffled loudly, feeling her face going red. Had she really just had a breakdown in front of her mentor? "Garfiel, I'm sorry," she mumbled, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. She did feel a little better, but the guilt and worry was still there, clawing at her.

Her mentor sighed and wrapped his arms around her in a hug. She leaned into it, taking the moment to gather herself and get a grip. Garfiel was the closest thing she had to a father, and, after all the time they had spent together, he knew how to calm her down. "Edward trusts you, Winry," he told her quietly.

Winry stiffened, eyes widening. "What do you mean?" She knew Edward had faith in her automail skills, but it was still weird to hear it coming from someone else. And the look Garfiel was giving her told her that the statement clearly meant something else.

Garfiel snorted softly. "If he didn't think you could do this, he wouldn't have asked," he replied.

"But that doesn't mean I won't mess up…"

"No, it doesn't. But it does mean that he won't blame you for anything that happens. He trusts that you'll do your best, and that's all he's asking of you."

Winry could feel the tears coming back. This time, though, it wasn't from fear; she was touched by Ed's faith. And to think she called _him_ dense. It had taken her long enough to pick up on this! "Thanks, Garfiel," she mumbled, still embarrassed but feeling a lot better.

He shrugged and got up. "It's not a problem, dear," he replied, giving her a pat on the back and a cup of tea. A chorus of groans and one excited yelp came from the poker game. Winry got up and looked in the room in time to see Ed grab a pile of money, a devilish smirk on his face as he eyed his winnings. Charlie threw down his cards, defeated, while Julius and Peninya comforted themselves by kissing.

Behind her, Garfiel let out a sniff of disgust at the behavior. "You know, Winry, it looks like Edward has enough money to take you out to a very nice dinner," he said, giving her a sly look.

Winry couldn't help but grin. "It looks that way, doesn't it?"

**Awww, this requires some tissues, I think. For those of you who are reading Tenebrae, recognize anyone? Hehe, I recycle my OCs. **

**And we all know Ed was totally cheating in that game ;D**


	23. Castle in the Sky

**Alright! Another chapter! I decided to take a break from the EdWin and give the Royai a shot. I did promise that there would be some of this in this story, so here you go. I think you can expect an AlMei chapter soon, too. Gotta be fair, you know?**

23. Castle in the Sky

It was a beautiful day in Central. Bright blue skies, big fluffy clouds, a nice brisk wind…

Much too nice of a day to be stuck in an office, signing paperwork, which was exactly what General Roy Mustang was doing.

At gunpoint, of course. Overturning a government did not automatically give one a work ethic. That, Roy thought, was something that was a long time coming. And he had plenty of time to work on developing it, anyway. It wasn't like he was old or anything.

That philosophy clearly did not sit well with a certain Major Hawkeye. When Roy had finally moved into his new, shiner, bigger office, he had found that Hawkeye had moved her desk into _his_ inner office and positioned it directly across from his desk.

So day after day, Roy found himself signing papers like his life depended on it (which nowadays it did). The walls already showed signs of being hit several times with bullets, though Roy had tried to save some of his dignity and fix the walls with alchemy. It had been a long time since he had done anything besides fire alchemy, and the job on the walls was a little shoddy and there were odd grey splotches, which always reminded him of blood, where the General had tried to cover the holes. It was at times like that when Roy wished Fullmetal was still in town. The blond would be able to fix the wall without a problem.

And there was Fullmetal, or the lack thereof. The doors were all still on their hinges, and it was clear Breda and Havoc missed their excuse for not doing paperwork. Roy sighed; he hadn't had a good argument with anyone since Fullmetal left.

When in the world had he gotten so used to the pipsqueak?

"Is there a problem, sir?"

Roy snapped out of his thoughts, blinking. "No, Hawkeye. Why would you think there was?"

She cocked an eyebrow. "You were staring out the window and drooling."

The General glanced down. Sure enough, there was a big wet spot on the paper in front of him. Ugh. "That's not my drool, Major. That's… The ceiling's leaking."

"It's not raining, General."

Man, she was good at backing him into corners! "It's leftover rain. You know, it pools on the roof and then leaks through the…" He trailed off at the look he was getting from across the room. Might as well stop before she got annoyed at him to shoot and not miss his head. They stared at each other for a moment before Roy hastily ducked his head and went back to signing the papers; the wet paper was moved to the side to dry out.

It was times like this that made Roy wonder who was really in charge in his office.

Hours later, Roy glanced at his clock and heaved a relieved sigh. Lunch time, finally. His stomach let out a grumble as he got to his feet and stretched. Hawkeye glanced up from her own desk, but didn't move to shoot him. Roy made a beeline for the door before she could change her mind.

The outside office was empty; his other subordinates, no longer under Hawkeye's watchful gaze, had left for lunch earlier than they were really supposed to. Roy scowled; he'd have to "have a word" with them about that.

Sure enough, Roy found his subordinates, and gave them a very stern lecture (which included Hawkeye-related threats) about ditching work. Breda didn't look at all impressed and Roy was pretty sure Fuery hadn't even been paying attention.

Still, Roy felt a little better as he made his way back.

It was still empty when Roy got back to the office, so he entered the inner office and closed the door behind him. Without Hawkeye, he had no reason to work, so he took a moment to stare out the window from his chair. Those clouds sure were fluffy. The sharp rap of footsteps caught Roy's attention and he turned around to find himself face to face with Hawkeye.

"Oh, Major. I didn't know-"

Instead of paying any attention to what he was saying, Hawkeye walked right by, up to the window. She stared out the window, down at the street before sighing and folding her arms across her chest. "It's a nice day, isn't it, Colonel?"

Roy was not expecting her comment. "Yes, it is," he replied, at a loss for anything else to say.

Her gaze moved up to the clouds. Roy suddenly noticed how… curvy she was, even in a military uniform that had obviously been designed for men. _Wait, where the hell did that thought come from? _

The blonde shifted her feet. "I remember looking at the clouds when I was younger and making shapes out of them. Mostly animals, like every other kid, but there were times when I was more girly about it. Castles, flowers, that kind of stuff."

Roy raised an eyebrow. He had a hard time connecting Hawkeye with the word "girly".

"Chief!"

Roy and Hawkeye jumped at the call. She hastily moved away from his window and Roy turned his chair around to face the door.

A moment later, Breda opened said doors and poked his head in. "Ran into Grumman in the halls. He wants to know if he can have the Ziggman files before the day is over."

Hawkeye bustled over to her desk and ruffled around in the stacks before pulling out a folder. "I'll bring it to him," she said, brushing past Breda and out of the office.

Roy glared at Breda and sighed loudly through his nose. His men were just _asking_ for punishment today.

Breda licked his lips nervously as he took in Roy's baleful stare. "Um, did I interrupt something?" he asked nervously. Roy noted that he tensed, as if he were ready to run.

The Colonel examined his gloves, in all their snappy, fire-combusting glory. He leaned back in his chair, breathing slowly and forcing himself to not blow up the office. Hawkeye would be most displeased if that happened. "Yes, Breda, I actually think you did."

**Not sure how in-character this chapter was, but I tried. Poor Roy's working at gunpoint now; maybe something will actually get done in that office now. Heh.**

**And there's a poll on my profile I'd like everyone to vote on. I'd like a little more feedback before I start brainstorming that idea. **


	24. Hay Fever

**Hello, everybody! I finally finished up my 2 history projects and Mardi Gras is over, so I had some time to write this. This chapter's not that long, but it's sick!EdWin, and that's always good stuff. Right?**

24. Hay Fever

Winry smirked as Ed groaned and covered his eyes. "Win, turn the light off," he whined, rolling over on the bed.

As always, Winry ignored the alchemist and plopped down on the side of the mattress. "All I did was open the curtains, Ed. You're such a wimp," she replied, picking up the little bottle of pills on the bedside table.

"Am not!" Ed shot back, moving his hand so he could glare weakly at her. The effect was lost due to the fact that his eyes were bloodshot and watery. He sneezed loudly and the blond sniffled indignantly as Winry giggled.

"Sure, sure. Just take your pills." Winry held out her hand, and Ed obediently opened his mouth for the medication. That was followed by a glass of water to wash them down. "Really, Ed, only would be able to get hay fever in a desert."

Ed gave her a feeble smirk. "Well, I am a prodigy and all that. I live my life doing the impossible."

Winry rolled her eyes and got up. It wouldn't do any good to stroke Ed's ego. "Well, use your prodigy skills to get better. The sooner you get over this, the sooner we can get started on your surgery."

That caught Ed's attention. "How much of longer am I going to have to wait?" he asked, propping himself up on his elbows. The past couple of days had been free of surgery talk, mostly due to the fact that Ed had been sleeping nonstop since he had gotten sick, but now that he was lucid again, it seemed that all the conversations revolved around the impending operation.

"We're going to have to wait at least a week after your symptoms clear up to be sure that you're over the fever. I'm not operating on you when you're sick," Winry replied, refilling the pitcher of water from the sink in the corner.

"A _week_?"

Winry's fingers twitched in the direction of her wrench. Ed was defiantly not a good patient. _If he keeps this up, I'm going to have to start drugging his food, _Winry thought grimly. It would certainly give her some peace and quiet.

Ed seemed to have figured out that arguing wasn't going to get anywhere; he flopped back onto his pillows with a grumble. After a moment, he turned his head towards her. "So, um, can I have some food?"

Of course. She should have seen that coming.

A couple of minutes later, Ed was polishing off a bowl of stew. It was nothing solid- even if Ed's appetite was back, that didn't mean his body was ready to deal with any real food- but still satisfying for the young alchemist.

"Thanks, Win."

Winry moved the bowl out of his way. "No problem. I just hope that wasn't too much for your stomach."

Ed rolled over and shuffled into a comfortable position. "I'm pretty sure I can keep it down," he replied, smirking. "You doubt the powers of my stomach?"

The young mechanic decided it would be best to not answer that question.

Not long after that, Winry was pretty sure Edward was starting to doubt the strength of his stomach as he vomited the contents of said stomach into a bowl at the side of his bed.

"What was that you were saying earlier about your stomach?" she asked, just a little smugly, during a break in between the heaves.

Ed raised his head to give Winry a baleful look. He spat loudly into the pot and shook his head woefully. "You're gonna need a bigger bowl."

**Yay for random Jaws references. Hehe. Poor Ed, all he wants are a pair of legs! But no worries, the surgery starts next chapter (finally)!**


	25. Pierce

**It's the wonderful automail chapter! Huzzah! Took me long enough, huh? Oh well. Midterms are next Monday and Tuesday, so I should be able to get some more chapters done. And chapter 93 was an awesome writer's block smasher. I've never seen Roy so... murderous before. I liked it ;D **

**And this was written so I could stall on Tenebrae... I'm on the last chapter! I'm nervous! xD**

25. Pierce

Winry had to force herself not to flinch as the door clicked shut behind her as Garfiel left. The sound was too ominous and final for her taste, and she really didn't need the added nerves.

She took a deep breath and sat down in the chair next to the bed. Edward was already in the bed, stripped to nothing but his shorts, fitted with an oxygen mask and drugged up to his eyeballs with morphine. It had taken two weeks for him to get over his illness, and as soon as he had been cleared, he had demanded that the surgery start the next day.

And Winry had obliged. She knew Ed was frustrated as hell being stuck in the wheelchair, and the fact that they had been living in a two-story house hadn't helped the situation in the least.

After her breakdown with her mentor, Winry had felt more confident about the operation. Automail surgery had developed a lot since Ed had his first installation, too. Patients didn't have to be conscious for the first stage and the painkillers were a lot stronger. The young mechanic didn't think that Ed would have too much of a problem with the rehab, especially with his past experience.

Winry glanced over at the blond in the bed. "Ed," she hissed, poking his side. She didn't get a response, but she tried a couple more times, just to be sure. She didn't need Ed waking up in the middle of the operation. But there was no response from Ed; it was time for the surgery to start.

With a sigh, she got up and moved across the room to wash her hands. She had spent most of the night before cleaning and sanitizing the equipment while Ed went through the rather unpleasant process of cleaning out his system in preparation of several days on the IV.

Winry moved back over to the bed and paused, hands on hips. She had left Ed's pants on for his dignity, but the blond was unconscious, and it was time for those pants to go. The mechanic pulled the sheets down and then yanked off the blue shorts. Really, she didn't know what she was nervous about; she had seen everything down there, and not just in the medical textbooks.

"Don't think about that. Concentrate," she growled to herself, scratching the side of her arm in an attempt to distract herself from that certain night at the Central hospital. Daydreaming of that in the middle of the operation would not be the best idea!

After much thought and planning over the weeks, Winry had decided to leave the hip installation for last. That would be the hardest and most tedious, and getting the easier one out of the way would give her the confidence boost that she needed for the final stretch. And with any luck, she would be into the groove of automail surgery by that point.

Winry snatched a marker off the tray and cracked a knuckle. Slowly, she began to sketch on Ed's stump, marking where bolts would go, where she would have to shave off some of the muscle for the port, how high the port was going, and so on. As she had hoped, she was caught up in the wonder that was automail and hardly noticed what she was doing.

Unconsciously, she reached behind her for the scalpel when the marks were complete. It wasn't until her hand wrapped around the cold metal that she paused, realizing that she was about to start the surgery.

_What are you so worried about, Win? You're the best mechanic anyone could have._

Oh, hell, was she going to start crying? Winry shook her head, clenching the scalpel tightly. Ed always seemed to pop into her head at the worst of times, like when she was trying to concentrate.

The blonde took a deep breath and tilted her head back, trying to get herself under control. Finally, she exhaled loudly through her nose and twirled the metal tool in her hands for a moment. Then she leant forward, blade raised, and pierced skin.

**I'm telling you, those pants just _had _to go. Hehe. Short chapter, but I liked writing it. **


	26. Body Fat

**So. I FINALLY got to see the first four episodes of the new FMA anime. Ohemgee. I'm in love. The animation seems different in this one- it seems to be more manga-ish, if that makes any sense o___o But I loved the ending song! At first, when I saw it, I was kind of "Ha, looks like the animation department got a budget cut!" and then I saw the very end and I squealed like the fangirl that I am. Hehehe.**

**Anyway. This chapter's all about Al and pretty long, which surprised me. Enjoy.**

26. Body Fat

Saying that Alphonse Elric was nervous was like saying that Roy Mustang liked fire- It was a vast understatement. After a nearly two-week train ride, Al, Mei and Shen Yin, the actual ambassador to Xing, had arrived in Xing's capital city of Manchu.

During the ride, both Mei and Yin had been teaching Al as much Xingese as they could. By the time they reached their destination, Al could greet others, introduce himself, ask basic questions, and thank people. He knew most of the Xingese etiquette and social rules; Yin had been adamant that he learn those, especially since he would be in the presence of the Emperor himself!

But besides meeting the royalty of Xing, Al was going to be introduced to Mei's parents, and that scared him even more. He couldn't imagine what they would think of their daughter bringing home some random person who was most definitely not Xingese.

Mei had assured him that they would understand and everything would be fine, yet Al had a feeling things wouldn't go so smoothly. It seemed to be a law of the universe that things never went well for an Elric.

The train came to a stop and the three collected their bags. Yin vanished before either of the young teens could even get off the train, but Mei claimed that she knew where she was going and that the elderly Yin probably snuck off to get something to eat before arriving at the palace.

Al insisted on carrying Mei's bags; not only was it polite, but it would hopefully put him in a better light with Mei's parents. It never hurt to be careful.

The two exited the train into a crowd of people. Al glanced around, but he didn't know what Mei's parents looked like and quickly gave up.

"Mei!"

Al turned at the shout in time to see a short, black-haired woman shove her way through the crowd and wrap Mei in a hug. The two began yammering away in Xingese and Al could only catch one or two words.

"Ah, you… are Alphonse?"

The voice, heavy with a Xingese accent came from Al's elbow. The man who had spoken was a little shorter than Al, but was slim and muscular, no stranger to the hardships of life. And more than likely Mei's father.

Al swallowed heavily. The man obviously had trouble with Al's native language, and the young Elric wanted to impress the family. Forcing Mei's father to speak in a language that he wasn't comfortable with wasn't going to help. It was time to put the hurried train lessons to use.

"Hello. I am Alphonse Elric. You are Mei's father?" Al replied in Xingese, bowing respectfully. The little speech had been stiffer and more hesitant than Al had hoped for, but judging from the look on the man's face, it had been more than enough.

"Yes. My name is Tai Chan. Xiu is my wife," he replied, gesturing to the woman who was currently making a fuss over Mei. "Welcome to Xing."

"Thank you," Al said, bowing again. He was relieved that his minimal understanding of the Xing language had been enough, though he was sure Tai had simplified his speech so he would be able to understand.

"Alphonse-sama! Come here!" Al obediently made his way over to Mei and her mother, Tai trailing behind with their bags. When he reached the young girl's side, she immediately grabbed his hand, shoved him forward, and began talking.

"Mother! This is Alphonse," she said, beaming.

Xiu Chan didn't even hesitate. Before Al could get a word of greeting out, he was smothered in a hug. Even though the woman was small, she was by no means weak and Al could have sworn he heard his back pop. Xiu was saying something, but Al couldn't understand it. He glanced over at Mei, who had turned a delicate shade of pink.

"Um, she thanks you for bringing her daughter home safely," Mei translated.

Oh. Well, that was a little bit of an exaggeration. Al glanced down at Xiu, who had taken a step back, but still had her arms around his waist and was giving him such a teary-eyed look that Al couldn't say no. "You're welcome," he replied in Xingese, grinning weakly.

Tai led the way out of the station and to the carriage waiting for them outside. Al stared; even in the fading light, he could tell that their ride was most definitely for the royalty of Xing, and he remembered Mei telling him that her family was not on the rich end.

Once they were in the carriage, Mei explained. "Ling convinced his brother to give us lodgings in Manchu while the delegation is going on. We're going to be getting the royal treatment for a while!" The young girl was excited and Al grinned back.

It was too late to see much of the city, but Al figured he'd get to that eventually. They were brought to their rooms (Al noticed that Mei was lodging with her parents and his room was at the other end of the hall) and Al had a chance to unpack and take a quick nap before dinner.

It was just the four of them at the table that night; Ling was not in the city at the moment. As the food was brought out, Al's eyes widened. The Xing never did anything halfway, apparently- There was so much food that Al was sure even Ed wouldn't have been able to eat it all!

Mei shoved a pair of chopsticks into his hand and poked his side playfully. "I told the kitchen staff that you needed to gain some weight."

Al glanced down at himself. It was true that he was still a little scrawny from being in the Gate, but he didn't need to gain _that _much weight. "Mei, this better not happen every night," he whispered, giving her a half-hearted glare. He never could get angry at her…

The young girl just winked.

**Squee! AlMei! They are just so adorable! 8D**

**Okie dokie, time for some name explanations. Manchu means "pure", Shen is "thinker", Tai means "sun" and Xiu means "elegant". Sorry, I am OCD about names, but they're important for character development and whatnot.**

**And yes, we'll be seeing some more of Ling later on. Huzzah!**


	27. Soap Bubbles

**Hooray! School's out for the summer! -dances- Hopefully I'll have more time to write, but I have to start the wonderful college search now, and I'm going to Disney World this weekend for a week. So we'll see how it all works out, I guess.**

**This chapter was inspired by Giant Nickel's fanfiction Sweet Kisses. Chapter four was just _adorable. _So enjoy!**

27. Soap Bubbles

"Ed! Hey, wake up!" Winry poked the blond's side a couple of times, eliciting a low moan. Ed swatted at her hand lazily before rolling over onto his stomach and falling back to sleep.

Winry scowled as Ed began snoring again. Sure, he was just coming off the morphine from the surgery, but she had been trying to wake him up for _ten minutes_! She was starting to suspect that he was just ignoring her, but she couldn't be positive.

Normally, she would have let him wake up on his own, but Ed really, really needed a bath. Sponge baths weren't cutting it, and now seemed like as good a time as any. With any luck, Ed would be too drowsy to even remember the event.

Ed obviously wasn't going to be any help, so that left Winry to do all the heavy labor herself. She stalked out of the room to get the tub ready, still steamed at Edward's lack of cooperation.

After filling the bathtub with warm, soapy water, she returned to find Edward still snoring and dead to the world. She gave him a glare, wrapped her arms around him, and lifted. It was a good thing he was missing his legs and didn't weigh all that much. Though now that she was actually carrying him, taking his arm off might have been a good idea. The mechanic growled under her breath as she finally reached the bathroom. Once there, she unceremoniously dumped the alchemist into the tub.

He didn't even twitch.

Winry pouted, but grabbed the bar of soap and began working. It didn't take long and Winry was soon wringing out the washcloth. She turned away from Ed to put the cloth back on the wrack when she felt two arms- one metal and one flesh- wrap around her shoulders.

All the mechanic had time to do was shriek before she pulled over the edge of the tub and into the foamy water.

"Oh, thanks for dropping in Winry."

Winry pushed her sopping hair out of her face to glare at Ed, who was clearly wide awake and over the morphine. He winked and grinned at her, eyes glinting mischievously.

"Edward Van Elric!" she screeched, slapping his shoulder as he started laughing. "You were faking sleep the whole time, weren't you?"

The grin grew. "Yep."

She huffed and crossed her arms across her chest. "Was there a reason you pulled me in here with you?" she asked, belatedly realizing that she had on a white shirt that was quite wet.

Ed leaned back against the side of the tub. "It was lonely down here. And besides, you could use a bath- you smell like grease," he teased. "Good thing Garfiel has such a big tub, eh?"

Winry rolled her eyes and tossed a clump of wet hair over her shoulder. "I guess it is. Otherwise, I'd have to sit on top of you," she shot back.

"Would that _really _be such a bad thing?"

Winry scowled as Ed's ever-so-seductive smirk grew. Edward always managed to push her buttons and drive her crazy, and yet here she was, sharing a bathtub with him. Really, it was enough to make her want to bang her head on the wall in frustration. "Edward! You're impossible!" she shouted, slapping the water with her fists to vent some of her aggravation.

The slap turned out to be much harder than she had thought, and Edward got a face full of water. He tossed his head to get the hair out of his face and raised an eyebrow. "Oh, so that's how you want to play, huh?" he asked, slapping the water in retaliation and drenching Winry.

"That's not fair! You have automail; it makes a bigger wave!" she exclaimed, smacking the water with as much force as she could.

"Well, you've got legs, so we're even." Ed replied, hitting the water with the palm of his automail.

"I knew I should have taken your arm off before surgery!"

"Well, that's too bad- Ow! What'd you kick me for!?"

"Just using my advantage."

Meanwhile, Garfiel was frying some ham for lunch. Every once in a while, a shriek would make its way down the stairs, but he was pretty sure Winry had everything under control. She was a good, strong girl, and could handle whatever that Elric boy decided to pull. The man huffed and slid a piece of ham onto a plate.

A couple of minutes later, Winry stumbled into the kitchen, looking quite exhausted. Garfiel glanced over as she plopped down into one of the kitchen chairs. "Winry, dear, you're wet," he said, placing a plate of food in front of her.

The girl glanced down at herself and the small puddle forming beneath her and shrugged. "Giving Ed a bath is… quite the experience," she replied, taking a bite of the ham and looking quite pleased.

Garfiel frowned, remembering all the screaming and yelling from earlier. He had assumed it was her yelling at Elric to behave, but… "Oh, really?" he asked.

Winry nodded, her mouth full. She swallowed and took a quick drink of water. "I'm really glad you have such a big tub, Garfiel."

The man wasn't sure what to make of that.

**I really need to stop watching the Lion King. I managed to work a scene from that movie into my fic... Wow. (I'll give you guys a hint: Simba, Nala, and a big pool of water)**


	28. Secret

**Rawr! Why can't I update on a regular basis? College visits, massive summer reading, and house renevations have taken all my time. But really, it's the summer. You'd think I'd manage some time to write...**

28. Secret

"Hi, Miss Winry!"

Winry waved to her young client who skipped into her workroom and sat down in the examination chair. The mechanic dropped her toolkit next to the chair and began to rummage through it for her screwdriver.

"Hi, Eric. What seems to be the problem?" The young boy was her first client of the day.

"He jammed his wrist when he fell yesterday," explained Eric's mother, Mrs. Foreman. "Some of his fingers aren't moving right, either," she added, sitting down next her son.

Winry smiled gently and held up the boy's left arm to examine the wrist. "I think the gear's tangled in some of the wiring. I'll have to take it off to fix it." Eric shuffled nervously and his mother patted his shoulder. The young boy was still getting used to having his metal arm and taking it on and off was a rather painful experience.

"Will it hurt?" the boy asked quietly.

"It will when I reattach your arm, but it shouldn't last too long." She had learned long ago that sugarcoating the situation was not the best way to go with automail. "You can take a quick nap before you leave if you want."

That seemed to comfort the boy.

An hour later, the arm was fixed (the wires and gears had been twisted together, as Winry had suspected), and ready to be attached. Eric was situated in the chair and Winry slid the repaired arm into place.

"You ready, Eric?"

He nodded, biting his lip. Mrs. Foreman took her son's hand.

Winry grabbed the switches, braced herself, and-

"AGH! Dammit!"

The swearing from upstairs drowned out Eric's squeak of pain; Mrs. Foreman gasped and dropped her son's hand in favor of covering his ears.

"_Winry!_"

Winry sighed and peeled off her gloves. "He's fine, Mrs. Foreman. You can leave as soon as he's ready. I have another patient that obviously needs some attention."

Upstairs, she found a disgruntled Edward sitting on the floor, metal legs spread out in front of him. He scowled up at her and then pointed at his legs. "There's something up with the hip joint. I think it's stuck; it won't move."

Winry tried not to let her nervousness show. She had talked to other mechanics about the hip joint, and several had mentioned the chance of the automail joint grinding against what was left of the hip bone and getting stuck. If that was the case, then it would hurt- metal on bone was not the most comfortable feeling in the world. "Does the port hurt?"

Ed licked his lips.

"Tell the truth, Edward."

He huffed loudly and leaned his head back against the wall. "Yes," Ed finally admitted, eyeing the wrench Winry had pulled out of her pocket.

She nodded and grabbed the ankle of the offending leg and rotated the limb around. Ed fought back a hiss of pain and Winry could pick out a distinct grinding sound. Yep, something was stuck. "Hold on, I think I can fix it," she told him, grabbing the leg firmly with both hands.

Ed glanced up at her. "Wait, what're you going to- Ow!" The alchemist yelped as she yanked his leg, popping the metal joint back into place. "Was that necessary?" he asked with a pout, rubbing his hip.

Winry gave him a look and straightened up. "Let's see if your leg works now," she said, holding out her hand.

He sighed and grabbed her hand and stumbled back to his feet. After a couple of months of rehab, Ed had finally gotten the hang of walking again. But his hip connection had been causing problems off and on for weeks, and Winry had been getting worried; she suspected that Ed thought something was wrong, too.

"Hey, Win?" Ed was pacing the room, looking nervous.

"Hm?" Winry glanced up.

Edward had stopped next to her. "Is there something, you know… Wrong with the automail?" he asked warily.

Winry contemplated whacking him with her wrench, but decided against it. It would be hard enough to admit her mistake without Ed screaming bloody murder and cowering in the corner.

Instead, she settled for crossing her arms across her chest and looking down at the floor. "I've never done a port like that before," she said quietly. "And I couldn't make a full port without damaging your organs. So your hip bone isn't completely protected from the automail limb." The mechanic paused a moment to nibble on her lip. "The bone and the limb will occasionally grind against each other and that means that from time to time, they'll get stuck."

Edward was silent, and Winry didn't dare look up. He was mad at her, she knew it. He had trusted her to give him new legs, and she had failed him. She wasn't sure how long they stood there- all she was aware of was Edward's silence.

And a silent Edward Elric was a very bad thing.

"Win…" Ed sighed and Winry glanced up as he moved forward until they were nose-to-nose. "I'm not mad at you."

Winry shifted nervously. "You're not?"

He snorted. "I saw the sketches you had for those ports. Not to mention all the times you fell asleep when you were working on your plans." The blond offered up a lopsided grin. "Can't ask for more than that, can I?"

Oh, no, she was going to cry- She could feel it. It must have showed because a look of alarm flashed across Ed's face and he grabbed her shoulders. "No, Winry, don't cry. It's okay. The automail's fine and the rehab's going well and…" He trailed off and bit his lip.

Then Edward's eyes narrowed and Winry found herself locked in a kiss. Ed's hands had moved from her shoulders to her hips and Winry was pleased to find that she didn't mind.

They stayed that way for a couple of minutes until Edward finally raised his head to smirk at her. "Still think I'm mad at you?"

Winry grinned back. "Nope. But now that you mentioned the automail, I think your hip port could use some work," she told him.

Ed tilted his head. "Does that mean the pants come off?"

"Yes."

His eyes lit up and he grabbed her hand. "Well, let's go then!"

**I really need to stop watching That 70s Show when I write. **

**I honestly tried to make the chapter serious, but it didn't happen. Ed's to horny for his own good. Anyway, next chapter is planned out, but don't expect it soon. School starts tomorrow and it's senior year. Hooray for unholy amounts of homework!**


	29. Things Left Behind

**I'm so sorry that this took so long. School's a butt, and I'm teetering on the edge of falling into the D Gray-Man fandom. Seriously, 10 manga chapters in one sitting. **

**And Brotherhood's plot is making me happy! Ishbal's much more detailed and we FINALLY get to see the Rockbells! That and the newest manga chapter. I WANT CHAPTER 100 NOW! I heard that 100 was going to be the last chapter, but I don't think that's possible- there's too many lose ends to tie up! **

**This chapter's for all the RoyAi fans! **

29. Things Left Behind

It was That Day.

This was the day Roy Mustang hated more than anything- more than his anniversary of Ishbal, more than the time his alchemy teacher Hawkeye had died right in front of him, even more than the day he found out just how big the whole Promised Day mess was.

It was the day Maes Hughes had been killed.

And of course, it was raining like a bitch.

If not for the rain, Roy was sure he'd be out in the graveyard stewing his angst and self-loathing, but as it was, he was stuck in his office, glaring at the piles of paperwork and stewing in said angst and self-loathing.

To make matters even _worse _(really, he hadn't thought it was possible), Hawkeye had confiscated his secret whiskey stash earlier that morning. He still didn't know how she had found it, but it didn't matter- it was gone.

Mustang heaved a sigh and gave the wall a deadly glower. The only bright side to the situation was that Hawkeye's desk was no longer in his office; she had moved back out to the main office when she realized that there was more slacking going on there.

So General Mustang was left to his own devices.

And in most cases, that was a bad thing.

But for once, instead of daydreaming, Roy had been doing some heavy thinking. He was pretty sure it was the lack of alcohol that had caused it, but it had helped him reach a conclusion:

He was tired of leaving things behind.

Since he had joined the military, it had been drilled into his head that emotions were nothing but a hindrance. And when he strove to take the country for himself, he had tried to distance himself from others. He was going to make enemies and they would try to go after those close to him. So by giving everyone the cold shoulder, he had eliminated that problem.

At least that was what he had thought.

The first time, he had left his childhood and Madame Christmas to learn alchemy. Granted, it hadn't been a conventional childhood, but he still loved that crazy woman like a mother.

Then Ishbal had separated him from most of his friends. They had heard and seen what he'd done and it scared them- Who knew what would happen if Murdering Mustang lost his temper?

Roy had thought that was it, but then Edward Elric came into the scene and everything went off the tracks.

Hughes murdered because he had found something out, Havoc impaled and crippled because he had followed Roy's orders, Hawkeye almost-deadly confrontation with Pride, and then Fullmetal's dismemberment and near-death in the sewers fighting the Homunculus.

It was a combination of his ambition and, paradoxically, his passiveness that had sparked the whole chain of events. If he had done some of the work and stood up for himself, then things would have been different.

So today was going to be That Day- The day in which Roy Mustang got off his ass and took a step forward.

Better late than never, right?

The alchemist stood and stalked over to his office door and swung it open forcefully. In the outer office, the rest of his staff fell silent and stared back in surprise.

"Hawkeye. My office."

He ordered curtly before sharply and retreating back to his desk.

Instead of sitting, the alchemist turned to face his window. He could hear the door closing and Hawkeye walking to the front of his desk, where she stood quietly.

The general risked a quick glance over his shoulder. Hawkeye was standing at attention, eyes narrowed with disapproval (after all, she had been dragged away from her work for an unknown reason).

Roy worked his jaw nervously. Pissing off Hawkeye had probably been a stupid thing to do, but he had wanted her to be alone. For a moment, he toyed with the idea of dismissing her and forgetting the whole thing, but that would be quitting, and Roy Mustang did not _quit. _

He turned around sharply to face his subordinate. "Hawkeye, I've been thinking."

Hawkeye's eyebrow twitched. "Really, sir?"

Was that skepticism in her voice? She really didn't trust him, did she? "Yes. And I came to a very important decision. It wasn't easy for me to decide, either." Roy paused and steeled himself. This was either going to go very well or he was going to have a bullet in quite an undesirable place.

"And what decision was that, General?"

_Don't back out. Do it, Mustang, do it! _Roy reached into his pocket, pulled out the box, and slammed it on the desk between them. Hawkeye looked startled at the sudden motion and reached for the box. Roy smirked inwardly- he had finally managed to catch her off guard!

As Hawkeye opened the small box, Roy cleared his throat. "Riza, will you always have my back?"

She looked startled at his words and then opened the lid all the way. Her eyes widened so much that Roy could see the reflection of the ring in them. After a moment, she snapped the box shut again and gave Roy one of her "you're-such-an-idiot" looks.

"Oh course, Roy. Somebody has to."

**YAY! This makes me warm and fuzzy inside xD**

**So anyway, there's a poll up on my profile. Check it out and answer in honestly, please.**


	30. Blood

**Cheese and rice! It's been way too long since my last update! I'm sorry, guys. I had a rough time with this one, since I couldn't figure out who to write about; blood works with just about _every_ character. And I kept getting distracted with other stuff. But hey, I developed plots about five other fics. Hooray procrastination!**

**But there is good news: I finished my crazy hard semester of AP English, Calculus, and Spanish III. This semester doesn't look like a killer, and I have 2 classes that involve me sitting in front of a computer, so I might be able to sneak some writing time in there.**

**Enjoy this chapter! There's some OC's, and there will be more as the story progresses, but I'm trying to keep the focus on the canon characters. **

30. Blood

"How're your legs doing, Ed?"

Ed glanced up from his soda at Bunny. The two had gone for a walk around town so Ed could actually stretch his legs and get used to using them again. It was lunch and the two had stopped to get a quick meal (and cool off) at the local pub.

"They're fine. Sore, but that's going to happen," he replied, rubbing the side of hip unconsciously. As much as it did hurt, it felt good to get out and move around.

A plate of fries was dropped in front of him and Ed glanced up to see Charlie, the young bartender. The redhead pulled out the chair next to Ed and sat down. "Well, it's good to see you out and movin', Elric. I imagine that's a load off Miss Rockbell's mind."

Ed stopped mid-chew to glare at Charlie. "Why do you care about what Winry's doing?" This conversation better not go where he thought it was going…

Charlie leaned back and swiped a potato chip from Bunny's plate before replying. "Isn't it obvious? Her Friday nights are now open."

Ed bristled. "You're one of those crazy mechanic perverts, aren't you?"

Charlie scowled and swung around to face Ed. "Excuse me?"

"Please, like you don't know. I've seen all of you fawning over her and flirting," Ed snarled, taking a vicious bite out of a handful of fries.

The redhead leaned in, eyes narrowed to slits. "Well, at least I have the decency to treat her like a lady. I didn't leave her to go cavorting around the country."

_Oh no you didn't._ "I had a plenty good reason for 'cavorting' around the country," he spat back.

Charlie raised an eyebrow and didn't reply.

The rest of the lunch was silent. Charlie had left the table and Ed spent the rest of the time glaring over Bunny's shoulder at the bartender.

"Ed, don't worry about him." The blond gave her blank look, his mouth full of fries. "He did flirt with Winry, but she never paid any attention to him."

"Who said I was worried about him? And why would I be worried, anyway? It's not like Winry and I are dating or- What's that look for?"

Bunny shook her head, wiping the smirk off her face. "Nevermind, let's go."

Back outside, the two wandered down the main street of Rush Valley. "Hey, Bunny. You want to race back to Winry's?"

"You sure you're up to it?"

Ed snorted and flipped his hair. "'Course I'm ready."

"Alright. Bring it, shrimp!"

"What?!"

"Ready, go!"

"Hey, _get back here_!"

Bunny rolled her eyes as Ed charged after her, spewing curses. "I don't know what Winry sees in you," she muttered as Ed came astride of her.

"If you think I'm letting a girl out-race me, you've got another thing coming!"

Ah, trash talk. "Well then you'd better put some power into it!"

They continued to argue as they raced down Rush Valley's main street. A couple of people stared as they darted by, but most of them just ignored the two young people.

Bunny pulled ahead a little and grinned. She felt a little bad taunting Ed like this, since he wasn't anywhere near his normal strength, but she had to beat him at least once!

"Hey! How you like eating my dust?" Bunny glanced to the side, but didn't see the blond. "Ed?"

She slid to a halt and turned around. "Ed, where-?" Bunny froze, eyes widening.

A couple of feet behind her, Ed was down on all fours, one hand grabbing his hip. His head was bowed and as Bunny took a couple of steps closer, she could here a choice curse word or two slip out.

But then she saw it, slowing dripping from Ed's hip and pooling underneath him on the dirt of the road.

_Blood._

Bunny's vision tunneled and she felt her knees buckle beneath her. Oh, she _really_ hated blood…

* * *

"Bunny? Hey, can you hear me?"

The voice came to her slowly and Bunny groaned and cracked open an eye. She scowled up at Julius' face. Her boyfriend was leaning over her, brow furrowed with worry.

"Julius, what happened?"

Julius leaned back and Bunny sat up. "You fainted. Ed tore his hip port while you two were running." He jerked his thumb over his shoulder.

Bunny leaned over to the side, where she could see through the doorway. She could hear voices, but they were too low for her to pick out any words. "That would explain all that blood. Is he alright?"

"Yeah, Winry's in the other room with him. It took some stitches to fix and he's stuck in bed for a while, but he'll be fine."

"'Course he'll be fine. If he went through automail rehab in a year, he can handle a torn port. And I think he and Winry will take advantage of his bedridden time," she added with a smirk.

Julius raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I'm sure they will."

**We all know Ed secretly likes being bedridden. After all, there's only so much you can do in bed ;)**


	31. Glasses

**This has got to be the quickest I've ever updated. Hooray! Part of the speedy update was that I wanted to get this done before the Super Bowl so I could party all night with all the other Who Dats without having to hear the voice in my head nagging me about my lack of updates. So yeah, go Saints!**

**Not really edited, so tell me if any errors pop up. **

31. Glasses

Ed couldn't figure out how in the world people could live in Rush Valley. During the day, it was as hot as hell, and then at night, got as cold as a corpse. But the weather would explain why everyone in the town was so damn _crazy_.

He scowled as he pushed open the door to his room and wandered into the hallway. The cold had always bothered him since he had gotten automail, but now with three piece of automail, cold weather was a pain in the ass. Literally.

Ed rubbed his hip as he made his way down to the kitchen. Garfiel had mentioned a couple of extra blankets stashed in the cupboards, and Ed had every intention of snatching all of them and wrapping himself in them for the rest of the night. He had considered using alchemy to heat the mattress, but he really didn't want to risk falling asleep and setting the house on fire.

…That probably wouldn't go over too well with Garfiel.

Finally, he clomped into the kitchen. It was even colder down here and Ed was starting to wish he had thought to put his jacket on. _Stop whining, Elric! Get the blankets and GO!_

It took a couple of minutes of rummaging, but Ed finally found the pile, tucked all the way in the back of a cabinet in the far corner. "Why the hell are they back here?" Ed asked aloud, as if the universe was going to answer his question.

But really, it was cold, and Ed didn't want to get frostbite. He had lost enough of his body, thank you very much. The alchemist hurried back to the stairs as quickly as he could. It had been a couple of week since he had torn his port, and while it was healed over, there were still times when the area was sensitive.

He reached the bottom step and paused. To the left of the stairwell was Winry's workshop. The door was closed, but there was a strip of light peeking out from under the door.

Ed scowled. _There's no way she's still awake_, he thought. He walked over to the door and nudged it open a crack. He had learned the hard way not to startle Winry while she was working with tools- last time he had barged in while she was working, she had nearly sliced her hand. That hadn't been pleasant at all.

But sure enough, the mechanic was hunched over her workbench, tinkering away at the inside of a leg.

The blond snorted and rapped on the doorframe. "Win? What the hell are you doing up?"

Winry whirled around on her stool and whipped off the glasses she had on and dropped them on the table behind her. Ed couldn't help but smirk. He could remember teasing her about how much of a geek she looked like wearing them. Ever since then, she had made a point of hiding them whenever he was around.

She glared and picked up her wrench. "I could ask you the same thing."

Ed motioned to the bundle of blankets he was still holding. "I was freezing, so I came for some blankets." He paused and tilted his head. "Win, it's almost two in the morning. Should you really be working with drills?"

Winry frowned and gave the leg a mournful look. "I told Mr. Hanneson I'd have his leg done by tomorrow."

"Yeah, but if you cut your finger off because a drill slipped you won't be doing anyone much good."

She glanced down at the leg and back at Ed before sighing. "I suppose you're right…"

Ed huffed. "Of course I'm right, woman! You're too sleep-deprived to know any better!"

Winry slammed her wrench on the table. "Oh, really? If you were as smart as you say you are, you would know that those blankets won't do you much good!"

The alchemist paused. "What?"

She got up from her bench and wandered over to where Ed was standing. "Yeah, those blankets won't help you that much. You need something…warmer."

Ed stared at her for a minute before glancing down at the blankets and back at her. "Like what?" he asked.

Winry sighed and roller her eyes. He could be so _dense_. "Like… me," she whispered, her face inches from his.

Even though she knew it was coming, the startled expression on Ed's face was enough to make her giggle. He gawked for a moment before dropping the blankets and smirking. "Well, now that you mention it, I think I would be warmer with you."

The two stood there for a moment before Ed kicked the door open all the way and grabbed Winry's wrist. "Let's go, my ass is about to freeze!"

Winry followed him over to the stairs. "We can't have that, now can we?"

**No, we most certainly can't have that! (Oh, the teenage horny-ness. It makes fanfics good.)**

**Hehe, I love the glasses Winry had on in one episode of Brotherhood. That made this chapter pretty easy to write. **


	32. Homemade

**More updates! You lucky readers! **

**This one's HavocxRebecca, which I think is an underappreciated pairing. Rebecca only shows up for one chapter, but she does ask about Havoc and seemed to be excited to hear that she was in town. **

32. Homemade

It was a quiet evening- classic country, really. Havoc took another drag of his cigarette as he sat on the front porch of the family store and watched the sunset. The last train of the day was leaving the station, and in a small town like this, it meant that the day was essentially over.

"You know, I would have thought the nurses in Central would have broken you of that habit."

Havoc jumped at the voice and inhaled a much larger puff of smoke than he intended to. He coughed loudly for a moment before glancing over his shoulder, ready to chew out whoever had surprised him.

"Hey! What do you think you're-" Havoc paused and blinked. "Rebecca?"

The gunwoman smirked and walked up the steps to the porch. "You bet. It's been a while, hasn't it, Jean?"

Havoc raised an eyebrow and turned the wheelchair around the face her. It had been years since he'd last seen her, back when they were cadets at the Eastern Academy. They'd been pretty good friends, since they had both ended up in some of the more advanced firearm training sessions, but after Ishbal, they'd been transferred to different cities. Hawkeye had mentioned talking to her when he had been back in the hospital, but that had been the last he'd heard of her.

"I'll say it has. What are you doing out here, anyway?" It wasn't like she was passing through- his hometown wasn't on the way to anywhere.

Rebecca leaned against the railing. "Well, I'd been meaning to come see you for a while and Riza told me that you were going to Xing soon. So I figured now was better than later."

Havoc raised his eyebrows in surprise. Al had been in Xing a while and had, with the help of Ling, gotten one of the alchemical doctors to agree to look at Havoc's spine and legs. Nobody was promising anything, but if there was a chance for him to walk again, he was going to take it.

Once he had agreed to go, Mustang had promptly kicked him out of Central and declared him to be on "indefinite medical leave." Which, Havoc knew, translated into "take all the time you need and don't come back until there are results."

"Well, you've got good timing. I've leaving at the end of the week," he replied, reaching for another cigarette.

Rebecca kicked the wheel of his chair. "Seriously, Jean, quit the smoking," she ordered, frowning.

Havoc rolled his eyes. "I've been told that a million times. Try something new."

"Fine, I will," she retorted and snatched the lighter before he could light his new cigarette.

"Hey! Give it back!"

She shook her head and stuck the lighter in her pocket. "I'll give it back when you start acting like a gentleman."

Havoc chewed on the unlit cigarette. "Alright, alright. You want to stay for dinner?" he asked, leaning back in his chair. "It's roast."

Rebecca's stomach growled at the mention of food. She crossed her arms across her chest and grinned. "Thank you, Jean. I would like that. See, that wasn't hard," she teased and tossed the lighter back at him.

Havoc smirked and began to push the wheelchair towards his parents' house. "Yeah, well, bringing you to dinner will get my mom off my case about the lack of girls I bring home."

Rebecca didn't look particularly alarmed at that statement.

**This was a lot shorter than normal, wasn't it? I don't know how well I stuck with the theme, either. But I do like the overall story. **

**But hooray for Havoc! We all miss him and Breda being idiots together, and now he's on his way back. Gotta love the Xing and their medical alchemy.**


	33. Punishment

**Hello again, everyone! Sorry for making you wait for an update, but graduating high school takes a lot of time, surprisingly. Anywho, this is another flashback chapter, following "Stright Perm" so more angst for you. **

**I'm curious if anyone else noticed this- in episode 58 of Brotherhood, was that a Dante cameo I saw? The old couple talking about the radio broadcasts?**

33. Punishment

Despite how adamant she had been about coming to Central and helping with stopping Father and the Promised Day, Winry was starting to have second thoughts. She wasn't going to back out (she was a Rockbell, and Rockbells never quit) but being just half a dozen blocks from the fighting…

Well, she wasn't going to be signing up for the army anytime soon, that was for sure.

Earlier, Marcoh had taken her down to Knox's house, where they had convinced the cranky doctor to come with them. From there, they had holed up in an old warehouse, in which they set up a makeshift hospital. A handful of soldiers (including Jean Havoc) were stationed there in case the Central army decided to target them.

But it wasn't the blood and the injuries (which were mainly from bullets) that bothered Winry.

It was the fact that she had no idea what was going on down below, where Edward was.

She jerked out of her thoughts as a man came running in, one hand grasping his wrist.

Marcoh got to him first. "Darius, what happened?" he asked.

Winry froze. Darius? _He's one of the chimeras with Ed_, she thought. She turned her head to look over her shoulder. If anyone would know how Ed was doing, it would be him. He and the other chimera, Heinkel, were practically Ed's bodyguards and the three of them were almost inseparable, even though the constantly harassed each other.

"It was those damned dolls," Darius replied. "One of those freaky monsters bit me," he explained and held out his wrist to be examined,

Winry froze, hands wrapped around the cloth she had been using to dry off some of Knox's equipment. If anyone would know what was going on down there, what Edward was doing, it would be him.

_But do I really want to know? _

She bit her lip and stared at the wall. For a while, she had been hoping that ignorance really was bliss, and that if they didn't hear anything, then everything was going well. But now there were injuries, and… She wouldn't be able to live with herself if she didn't at least ask.

"How are things going down there?" She had debated about how to pose the question, but being direct really seemed like the best way to go.

Darius glanced up, obviously surprised. He glanced nervously at Marcoh, obviously unsure of what to say. Marcoh shrugged busied himself with cleaning the gash on the chimera's arm.

Winry stepped forward and glared at Darius. She'd asked, and now she really needed to know.

He swallowed and rubbed his neck. "Well, it could be a lot worse," he said. Winry's eyes narrowed further and Darius hastily continued. "I mean, there's lots of fighting, but no one's dead." He mumbled something that sounded like "yet" and winced as Marcoh began to bandage the wound. "It's going to get worse, though. We haven't even got to that Father guy and apparently Bradley's shown up at Headquarters again."

That news brought several muttered swears and Darius stood up. "It's going to get real bad," he said, staring down at Winry. "I'd like to be optimistic, but… with the way things are going, someone's going to end up dead. Probably more, actually."

Winry felt her stomach clench and looked away as Darius made his way out of the building and back to the fight.

She had asked, and now she knew. There was a chance, a big chance, that Ed wouldn't make it out of this one. They might not even be able to stop Father and the Homunculi, and then what would happen to the country?

Winry sat on a crate and covered her face with her hands. Ed had told her, begged her, to get out of the country, and when she refused to do that, to at least stay back in Resembool with Pinako. But she hadn't listened to him, because she had wanted to know what was going on, and that he would be alright.

But now she knew the truth. For once, she wished she hadn't been so stubborn and had listened to him. She should have left the country, and just let herself wait, and hope that it would all work out.

It was too late for that. She had followed and now she was paying for it.

**Oh, angst. I love you so. Thanks for reading, guys!**


	34. 2seater

**Can it be? Another update? It is! Part of the reason I rushed this was because I'll be leaving for vacation next week. Which also means I won't have internet access the day the last chapter of the manga is released and won't be able to read it for about... a week after its released. I'm going to miss the fandom explosion at the conclusion. It makes me want to cry inside D:**

**But anyway, have some happy, adorable AlMei and be happy you lucky ducks!**

34. 2seater

Al had to admit that Manchu was quite a beautiful city. Xing itself was known for extravagant detail and breath-taking colors, and it seemed the capital city was the center of it all.

After several months of politics and hob-knobbing with famous and important Xingese, there had been a lull as finalities were hammered out with the Emperor and his court.  
Which meant that Al had a solid block of free time for the first time since he had arrived.

Ling had insisted that the younger Elric have a tour of the city and see the sights, do a little shopping and whatnot.

And so he had shoved Al in a small horse-drawn cart with Mei.

It had started out pleasantly enough, until they hit a bump in one of the roads and Mei had practically landed in Al's lap. There had been a flurry of apologies from both sides and Al found himself quite mortified with the fact that he had very much enjoyed that moment. And it wasn't just his mind telling him that- his body, too, made its pleasure known.

Al spent the rest of the ride with his legs crossed.  
They got off at several places- the ancestral temple, a restaurant, a book store (from which Mei had to physically drag Al out of), the marketplace, a weapons dealer (Al bought his brother the gaudiest, most obnoxious-looking sword he could find), and one of the museums.

It didn't take long until the cart incident was forgotten as Al found himself completely absorbed in Xing and its offerings. The nerd in him was doing cartwheels when he realized how much _stuff_ there was to learn about Xing, its culture, history, and, most importantly, its alchemy.

His time there had been quite busy, and Al hadn't had much time to focus on Xing own style of healing alchemy. But now, he was free to do what he wanted until the final trade agreements and treaties were signed (he had to be present for those).

It was late in the afternoon and he and Mei had squashed themselves back into the cart and were headed back towards the palace. Most of the vendors were packing up for the day and the noise had quieted down to a low hum.

"Hey, Mei?"

She turned to look at him, eyebrows raised in question.

"I was thinking… and I was wondering if you would be willing to teach me Xing's alchemy." It felt a little odd asking her this, though they had already spent some time working together. But this… it was more as if he was asking to be her apprentice.

Mei stared at him for a full minute before her face lit up with a smile. "Teach you? Really, Alphonse-sama?" she asked, her voice reaching a squeal at the end.

He grinned and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah. But you're really going to have to stop calling me that."

She didn't respond; instead, she let out another squeal and wrapped her arms around his waist, giddy as a princess who had just found her prince.

**Aww, they're just so cute, aren't they? Hope you enjoyed this chapter! **


	35. Memory Loss

**Angst time! And beware of the foul language in this chapter. **

**This chapter may be a little weird, as I'm trying to blend my canon from earlier chapters (Ed losing the automail leg to Envy and his flesh one to Pride) with the actual manga canon. Just work with me, people.**

…**I still can't believe FMA's over now. But hooray for that happy ending!**

35. Memory Loss

"Human, your body is mine!"

Ed froze as Pride lunged towards him, black tendrils sweeping their way across the floor towards him. He swore and pushed himself to the side at the last second, avoiding the attack. The remains of his automail port screeched against the stone floor, and Ed flinched unconsciously from the sound. The leg itself was bleeding, as envy had decided that taking a bite from his leg was a great way to end the fight, and, Ed was loathe to admit, it probably would have been cornered and killed if Father hadn't pulled them all through the Gate and into his lair.

But now the fighting had gone up and out to the surface, leaving Ed to fend off Pride. Of course, he'd told everyone that he was fine, he could handle the little runt, but inside he was really starting to doubt himself.

Especially since Pride seemed determined to take over his body.

Pride came at him again, the side of his face leaking shadows. It was one of the creepiest things Ed had ever seen in his life, and for a moment, he hesitated.

It was enough.

The tendrils snaked their way around his body and Ed cursed when he realized he was pinned and quite unable to do alchemy.

_Brilliant. The great Fullmetal Alchemist is going to be done in by some brat._

"Really, Pride? You're going to stoop this low?" The words were out of his mouth before he could really think. He just had to distract Selim long enough for him to figure out a way out of this mess.

The boy's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean? Homunculi are superior to you pathetic humans," he hissed.

Ed winced as one of the tendrils cut the skin on his arm, but forced himself to smirk. "Oh? Then why do you need my body? Why don't you go ask Daddy for a brand new one?"

Pride scowl deepened and Ed gasped as he was lifted, flung into the wall, then slammed back onto the floor. "Homunculi need a human body to possess and inhabit," he replied quietly.

Ed moaned weakly and spat out a clump of blood. _This brat's got quite the temper. Little shit broke my ribs. _"But why mine? I mean, really, I'm not exactly in prime condition." It was true, too.

"Father can repair the body."

The blond struggled for a moment against the bonds, but that only served to deepen several of his cuts. "Yeah, okay. He seemed _so_ worried about helping you earlier," Ed replied, sarcasm dripping from his words. "That bearded bastard doesn't give a rat's ass about what happens to you, Pride."

Pride's eyes widened in a snap and Ed realized he'd hit a weak spot. Sure enough, the tendrils loosened slightly. He wiggled, bringing his hands closer together. "Face it Pride: you're just a pawn to him."

That did it. Pride's face contorted in the ugliest scowl Ed had ever seen. "Shut up, you damn human! Your body will be mine!"

One of the tendrils dove into a cut on his cheek; Ed screamed and just managed to clap his hands before they were jerked apart again. Pride dragged him closer so the two of them were face-to-face.

"You do realize the only reason you exist is so that Father could use you for energy. All the humans in this pathetic country have no purpose except to _die_," Pride hissed.

Ed felt something in his mind snap. "Shut up!" Wrong. The little brat was so damn wrong! "What do you know about anything?" There was more to life than just dying. "Your life has less purpose than any human's!"

Pride let out a roar and jerked the tendrils tight. Ed lunged forward, his hand reaching forward for Pride's head. _Get him, Elric! Now's your chance!_

But as he grabbed the Homunculus' head, there was a wet tearing sound and a white-hot pain went tearing up his spine. Everything went black for a moment before his vision returned and Ed found himself down on the ground, Pride's head still clamped his grasp, and, several feet away, still wrapped in the tendrils, was his leg.

Ed stared at it for a moment, the shock drowning out the pain and blocking the fact that he was now bleeding from yet another spot.

_...Holy crap. _

But then adrenaline took over and Ed snapped back to the present situation. Pride was still there and several tendrils had reared up, ends sharpened to points. Ed swore, turned his attention back to destroyed the Homunculus as the shadows came flashing down towards him and-

Ed's eyes shot open and he jerked up into a sitting position. For a moment, he stared, unseeing, at the wall in front of him before letting out a frustrated moan and sinking back onto the bed.

It was surprising how little nightmares had bothered him recently (especially since it had been over two years), but when they did come… Ed fought back a shudder and rubbed a hand across his face.

There weren't many things that Edward really wished that he could forget. After all, it was your experiences that made you who you were and shaped how you reacted to the future. But the pain, the panic, and the dead-cold fear that he was never going to make to the surface again and die without being able to see the people he cared about one last time were feelings and memories he was pretty sure he could do without.

**Wow, this turned out longer than I expected. And a lot more dramatic and deep. Seriously, the "meaning of life" bit kind of came out of nowhere. But hey it's fun stuff!**

**Hope you enjoyed. The next chapter's going to be much happier and the event that you've all been waiting for!**


	36. Glasswork

**The longest chapter so far! CreativebutLazy suggested this scenario, and I had to use it. Thanks so much! **

**I watched episode 64 and I think it was excellent. It was different from the manga, but not enough that it takes away from it. Elric brothers in waistcoats made my day! Al's scene with the chimeras was hilarious ("You're not really going to follow me, are you?"). Falman having kids was surprising, though I'm glad he got it. I'm still not sure what was up with Mustang's mustache… It looks horrible, though I've heard the theory that Ed drew it on the photograph, which is plausible. From the changes to the family portrait, I'm guessing Ed and Winry move to Rush Valley. **

**Anyway, sorry for the long author's note. But you get a nice long chapter as a thank you :)**

36. Glasswork

"How far in you want this, Ed?"

Edward frowned and shifted. "As far in as you can get it without messing up my wires. I don't need it falling out," he replied.

Julius frowned and pushed his thumb further into Ed's automail shoulder. "Alright, how about here?"

Ed grunted and swiveled his arm. "I think it's in now. Thanks."

"No problem. Glad you're finally going to do it, Ed." Julius smirked as Ed flushed and looked away.

"Shut up and put my arm back together before Winry finds us and kills us both for destroying my automail."

Julius let out a snort and grabbed one of the arm plates and a screwdriver. "Yeah, that's a death I'd rather avoid."

* * *

It had been a busy day down at the shop, and Winry really just couldn't wait to get back to Garfiel's place and take a nice long bath.

But, of course, that didn't happen.

The second she walked through the door, Ed besieged her, his automail arm thrust in her face.

"Hey, Win! I need you to look at something."

Winry scowled and dropped her toolkit on the ground. "Does it have to be _now_, Ed? It was a long day, I just want to take a bath and relax," she asked, a hint of a whine creeping into her voice.

Ed looked slightly alarmed and grabbed her wrist as she walked by him. "Wait, wait. I think I popped a support bar in my shoulder this afternoon." Winry arched an eyebrow, and Ed hastily continued to avoid Death by Wrench. "Julius and I were wrestling earlier in the day."

The mechanic moaned. With Al gone, Ed's energy had no outlet, so he ended up messing around with some of the other guys around Rush Valley. Julius was currently his favorite "playmate" (as Winry liked to call him) and the two were always beating each other up.

Ed tried again. "C'mon, Win, can you take a look a look at it? It keeps messing up with my nerve receptors and it's been bothering me all day."

Something wasn't adding up here… Winry put her hands on her hips. "If it was bothering you all day, why didn't you come down to the shop?" Ed had been stuck in the house due to his automail rehab, but he was well past that stage now.

Ed froze, mouth open to retort, but nothing came out. His eye twitched, and he looked around the room, as if his answer was hanging on the wall. "Uh…"

Winry rolled her eyes and walked past him, heading towards the bathroom.

She could hear Ed's feet clanking loudly on the floor as he chased after her and flung himself across the doorway to the washroom. Winry scowled, now thoroughly pissed that Ed was denying her the ability to get clean, and Ed pouted back.

Clearly, Ed had not learned that standing between a girl and her bathroom was a very dangerous, and stupid, thing to do.

"Edward. Move."

He tensed and looked worried for a moment before shaking it off. "No."

"Yes."

"No."

They stared each other down before Winry's hand shot into the pocket of her overalls and pulled out her wrench. "Move before I hit something that isn't automail."

Ed's eyes widened and he crossed his legs as well as he could while still blocking the door. He licked his lips. "Win, can you just fix my shoulder? It won't take long." Winry still looked unconvinced. "…Please?"

Winry's grip tightened on the wrench before she huffed out a sigh and pointed down the hall to her workshop. "_Fine_. Now get in there and take your shirt off."

Ed blinked at her, obviously surprised that she had relented.

"Edward, NOW!" Winry screeched, her patience thinning.

The alchemist bolted down the hall and into the room.

Winry stalked after him and found Ed shirtless and in the chair, right arm spread out for examination. "You said it was in your shoulder?" she asked, grabbing the necessary tools from the shelves and sitting down next to Ed.

He shifted and tapped what would have been his armpit. "It feels off in there."

Winry picked up her screwdriver. "I'll take the plates off and see what it is," she said, hoisting the arm up with one hand to get a better view.

She unscrewed several of the outer plates and began to poke around the internal wiring. She would occasionally hit a receptor and Ed would flinch, but other than that, he was as still as a statue.

And that should have been Winry's first clue that something was off. Ed was never still or quiet during exams, especially when the two of them were in such close proximity to one another.

_Clank._

Winry paused. Her screwdriver had hit something, snagged in the wires. She gave the wires a shake and something fell out of the wires and clattered to the bench.

The two looked down at the object and Winry tensed.

A ring.

A _diamond _ring.

She carefully picked it up and examined it. She recognized the design almost immediately- the ring had been in the display case at Wiltz's, the most expensive jewelry store in Rush Valley.

"Edward."

"…Y-Yes?" he squeaked out. His eyes were wide and he looked like he was on the verge of collapsing in a dead faint.

"Explain this," she ordered, thrusting the ring in his face.

Ed squirmed for a minute. "It's for you," he finally said.

Winry frowned down at the ring and brought it closer to his eyes. Ed still bought her jewelry every now and then, but this… "This is rather expensive for a gift."

The alchemist scowled. "It's not just a regular gift!" he exclaimed and sat up straighter. "It's an engagement ring!"

Winry jerked her gaze from the ring to Edward's face, which had gone a startling shade of red at his announcement. "_What?_"

Ed swallowed heavily. "You heard me."

There was a minute of silence as they sat there, Edward half naked and Winry covered in grease. It was quite the unromantic moment.

Then Winry jumped to her feet with a screech and flung herself at Edward, who was knocked off-balance; the two ended up in a heap on the floor.

"Is this a yes, Winry?" Ed asked, his face smothered by Winry's arm.

The mechanic let out a rather girly squeal and nodded. "Yes!" she exclaimed. Then she sat up, eyes wide. "Oh! I have to call Granny! And then I have to go tell Paninya and-" Winry slipped the ring on her finger and bolted for the hallway and the telephone.

Ed scrambled to his feet and chased after her. "Winry! Wait!" he called. She already had the receiver in her hand and the two tussled for a moment before Ed managed to get the phone away from her. "You can't tell anyone!"

Winry gaped and made a grab for the phone. "What do you mean I can't tell anyone? Granny needs to know!"

Edward licked his lips. "Because I was planning for us to elope!"

Winry did a double-take. "Elope? To where?"

"Xing. I plan on making Ling pay up for all the food he put on my tab."

Winry frowned, obviously knocked off-balance by Ed's plans. "But why do we have to elope?"

Ed was silent for a moment. "Well… it's, you know… bad ass!" he exclaimed, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"…You did _not_ just refer to our marriage as 'bad ass,'" Winry replied, her voice dangerously low.

Ed looked like he was seriously starting to doubt his word choice. "Um, no?"

Winry rubbed her temples. Despite how nervous Ed was about the whole thing, and how roughly it had been carried out, the thought of going to Xing to get _married_, was romantic. "You've got this all planned out, don't you?" she asked.

He nodded once.

They stood for a moment before Winry started to giggle.

Ed looked indignant. "What? There's nothing funny about this!"

Winry started to laugh harder.

"Win!" Ed whined.

She stopped and grinned. "Sorry, I can't help it. But yes, Ed, I'll do it."

He blinked. "You sure?"

"Yes. Now shut up and kiss me."

Ed obeyed and then lifted Winry up off the ground, smirking. "Y'know, Winry, you sure could use a bath. You smell like grease."

**Yes! The proposal! And we'll be seeing Al and Ling soon, too. **

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	37. Experiment

**Woah! This chapter is long! Hooray!**

**Not much EdWin, though. It's more of a filler, but we get to meet up with some of the Central Gang. Some OC's, but they have a reason to be here. Oh and I fail at fight scenes.**

37. Experiment

"What do you mean we can't go to Xing now?"

"I have to go oversee the State Alchemist Exam! It's the first one, it's not like I can just skip it."

"Well, why didn't you think of this before you proposed, Edward?"

"… I forgot."

"So you're expecting me to go to Central for several days, be surrounded by people I know, and not say a _word_ about us eloping to Xing?"

"Yeah, pretty mu- Hey! Put the wrench back, Winry! Look, if we do the Exam first, we won't have any deadlines and we can stay in Xing for as long as we want."

"And?"

"And you can… shop. All you want. I'll pay for it."

* * *

And so with that, the two of them had packed their bags and hopped the train to Central. They had spent the first half of the ride cuddling (Ed found he really didn't mind having Winry on him) and planning what to do in Xing. But as they got closer to Central, Ed's mind inevitably went to the upcoming Exam. He was pretty much going to run the show, and he was starting to feel nervous.

He'd called Mustang once before to hammer out some of the finer details of the new program. They'd divided the State Alchemist into three categories: Research, Medical, and Military. As much as either one of them hated to continue using alchemy is the military, the country was too dependent on it and removing it would leave Amestris at a serious disadvantage if there was to be a war.

Alchemist who applied for a research license would be given funds and access to the Central Library. They would be required to share their research and show any applications to keep their license, but would otherwise be allowed to do as they wished.

Medical alchemy was a small field, and it was Ed's hope that by creating the division in the alchemy program would generate interest and expand the field. Like research alchemists, they would be required to demonstrate the progress of their techniques to keep their funding and license.

The military aspect was the closest to Bradley's State Alchemists. They were given funds to do research and were required to be physically fit and able to fight if there was a war. However, they weren't the "attack dogs" that were so hated- defensive alchemy was their main goal, and, as Mustang had put it, the alchemists were to be more of "guard dogs" for the country. As before, they would be sent out to deal with problems that sprouted up around the country.

It was a big change and Ed really hoped it worked.

They reached Central, and the two gathered their bags and got off the train. It was busy, as always, and it took them a moment to maneuver their way out onto the street.

"Boss! Long time, no see!"

Ed turned to find Breda leaning against a car, chewing his way through a hot dog. The soldier smirked and offered a salute, his hand slathered with mustard.

"It has been a while, huh?" Ed grinned and dumped his luggage by the car. "I'm guessing you're here to give us a ride."

Breda's gaze flicked over to Winry. "Yeah, but Mustang was just expecting you. He only got one room down at the hotel."

Winry and Ed exchanged a quick glance. "I can stay with Mrs. Hughes. I've been meaning to visit with her for a while," Winry replied. Staying in the same room with Ed was obviously out of the question.

And so it was settled. Winry got in the car and left the men to stow the luggage.

Breda leaned over to Ed. "So… Why's your mechanic here? You two finally started dating?"

Ed tensed and gave Breda a glare. "Shut up! What is with you people? You have a betting pool going or something?"

"Pretty much. C'mon, Boss, I've got some good money riding on this," Breda replied, shutting the trunk.

The alchemist scowled and jabbed Breda's shoulder with his fist. "She's not my girlfriend, alright?" _She's my fiancée_. "So lay off and drive."

* * *

The next day was the first day of the exams. Ed made his way to Central HQ, where he was to meet Mustang.

It turned out that Mustang had come down from his office to meet Ed and in the main entryway. The general was leaning against a column, a smirk on his face. "Long time, Fullmetal. You ready to make grown men feel inferior about their knowledge base and then beat them into the dirt?"

Ed grinned and slouched against the wall next to Mustang. "Of course I am. Why do you think I came here?" He eyed the folder in Mustang's hand. "Is that the list?" he asked, pointing.

Mustang handed him the folder and pushed off the wall. "Sure is. We had ten people sign up, which is honestly more than I thought we would get," he said as Ed began to thumb through the papers. "We have six military, one medical, and three research applications. I haven't had a real chance to go through their notes, but we seem to have a decent mix of talent."

The two had begun walking while Mustang talked. Ed glanced up and closed the folder as they reached the doors to the large office that was acting as the HQ for the exams. Inside, there was a long table, stacked with several notebooks and piles of paper.

Ed tossed the folder on the table and picked up one of the journals. "These are the notes?" he asked, flapping the book in Mustang's direction.

The general nodded and pulled up a chair. "Yes. Let's get reading, shall we?"

Four hours later, Ed slammed the last notebook closed and pushed it away. "Geez, Mustang. This is all we have to pick from?" he asked, a groan creeping into his voice. There was hardly anything outstanding in the notes that had been submitted, though a couple of the alchemists had potential. The one alchemist that had applied for the medical license had piqued Ed's interest, as had two of the military applicants.

Mustang exhaled loudly and stretched, his back popping loud enough for Ed to hear. "'Fraid so. It's time for the interviews, so they should all be here," he replied, gesturing to the doors. "Go ahead and call the first one in."

Ed leaned over and grabbed the list before getting to his feet and stomping over the doors. He had every intention of freaking out the recruits as much as possible to find which ones actually had a backbone and wouldn't snap under pressure. With a grunt, he kicked the large double doors open, causing them to crash against the walls. The small waiting area on the other side went deathly quiet and the ten applicants turned to stare at him.

The blond stalked a little further into the room and gave them the famous Elric glare. Most of the alchemists broke eye contact, but a red-haired woman in the back scowled right back.

Ed's eyes flicked back to the list and the name at the top. "Thomas Aaronson!" he bellowed, his voice echoing off the walls.

From the side, a brunet pushed his way forward. He looked pale, but his stride was confident and he walked stiffly past Edward and into the room. Before following, Ed's gaze flicked over the remaining applicants before slamming the doors closed.

As it turned out, Aaronson was not state alchemist material. Neither were the other seven alchemists after him. None of the three research applicants were even considered and were immediately dismissed; one of the military alchemists had some potential (Ed had to admit that the ability to manipulate light was pretty bad-ass) and was allowed to take the written exam, though neither Ed nor Mustang had much confidence he'd pass it.

The last military alchemist was Ana Nevsky, the lone woman in the application pool. She was interested in condensing air into solid objects. It was a new idea for her and she was unable to get the objects to hold their form, and she was hoping that the military funds would enable her to perfect her circles.

William Holland was the only alchemist who applied for the medical license. He was an older man, in his forties, and had completed medical school and spent several years practicing. Through the interview, he revealed he wanted to use alchemy to help with organ transplants, an idea that was taking hold in the medical field all across the continent, but, as of yet, was unsuccessful.

So of the ten initial applicants, only three made it to the written exam.

As expected, only Nevsky and Holland passed it.

* * *

"Too bad about that light-bending alchemist, huh?" Mustang asked as the two of them headed towards the parade grounds. It was the third and final day of the exams, and the one Ed had been looking forward to the most- the practical.

Ed shrugged. "His ideas were great, but he was kinda dumb. We can't really have someone like him running around with a watch, can we?"

They arrived at the parade ground where a small crowd had gathered. Most of the people were Mustang's crew and other friends, such as Gracia, but several soldiers had shown up to watch the spectacle. Ed caught Winry's eye from where she stood by Hawkeye; she waved and Ed smirked back.

Nevsky was waiting by the flat, open area that had been roped off for the practical. She was the only one there, as Holland was not required to take this part of the exam.

Ed sauntered into the center and Nevsky followed, cracking her knuckles. "You know the rules, right?" he asked as he turned to face her.

She nodded. "No attacking fatal areas. The first half is strictly hand-to-hand, and then we can use alchemy in the second part."

"Right," Ed replied and sunk into a crouch; Nevsky did the same.

Not that Ed would have ever admitted it, but he was a little nervous about this fight. If this had happened before he had gotten his other leg ripped off, he would have had no doubt that he could have smacked Nevsky into the ground without a second thought. But as it was, he hadn't had much practice with his new automail outside of sparring, and the last thing he needed was for his hip joint to get stuck and immobilize him.

_Guess I'll just have to be quick about this_.

On the sidelines, a gunshot was fired, signaling the start of the first half of the practical. Nevsky lunged first, hand curled into a fist. Ed ducked and kicked up with his foot, but she twisted out of the way and took several steps to the side. They continued like that, Nevsky's speed making her a difficult target, but Ed liked a challenge.

He smirked as his roundhouse kick landed squarely on Nevsky's shoulder. She cringed and staggered, giving Ed the opportunity to knee her in the stomach. The redhead went down and, for good measure, Ed planted his foot on her shoulder.

"Round one's over," Ed smirked and stepped back, allowing Nevsky to get back to her feet. She scowled and dusted herself off with as much dignity as she could muster. There was a smattering of applause from the audience and Ed couldn't help but puff out his chest a little. Yeah, he was just that good.

The second round began and Ed opted for transmuting his elongated spear instead of his automail blade. Nevsky hadn't moved outside of adjusting her feet.

The shot fired, but instead of attacking, he waited for his opponent to make the first move. He wanted to see what she was capable of without her alchemy hindered by her attempts to get away from his spear.

Nevsky was still before she snapped her heels together sharply. There was the flash and crackle of alchemy from the soles of her boots and a soft _boom_. Ed jerked in surprise as she hurtled forward, arm pulled back for a punch.

_Shit! She compresses air?_ Ed thought in surprise as he ducked and rolled to the side. From the looks of it, she was compressing air and then releasing it, which created enough force to propel her across the parade ground in seconds. Nevsky turned sharply and came at him again. She had him on the defensive, and Ed was not pleased with that. Not at all. He clapped and slapped the ground, sending up a wall.

Obviously, she hadn't been expecting that, and Ed smirked as Nevsky collided with the wall. "Didn't see that one coming, did you? Too bad, that's really the oldest trick in the- Ah!" Several rocks came flying at his face and Ed barely had time to move; as it was, one rock scraped the side of his cheek.

There was a hole in the wall, and Nevsky stood on the other side, one foot raised from her transmutation. Ed scowled; he really should have figured that she could break a wall with a well-placed air compression.

"What were you saying, Fullmetal?" she asked, just as smug he had been before he'd taken a rock to the face.

Alright, that was enough. "Let me tell you something, missy," Ed snarled. "There's only enough room in this military for one snarky alchemist, and that's _me_," he said, jabbing his thumb at his chest.

Nevsky tilted her head. "Oh? Prove it, short stuff."

One minute later found Nevsky pinned to the ground with transmuted wires and a busted lip with one very furious Edward Elric glaring down at her.

* * *

"So the exam went well?" Winry asked over their dinner.

Since Ed had pretty much been unable to visit Winry while he was running the exam (the thing was very time-consuming), he had decided to make it up to her and take her out for dinner. (And despite what Mustang and Breda said, it was not a _date_. If it hadn't been raining, he would have taken her shopping for tools instead.)

Ed shrugged and took a bite of his roast. "Yeah, though I really wish the applicants had been a lot smarter," he replied, rolling his eyes at the memory of one alchemist who, when asked to pick out Drachma on a map, had pointed to Ishval.

Winry shrugged. "At least you got some, right? Riza mentioned how short on alchemists the military is."

"Wait, you talk to Hawkeye?" Ed asked.

She nodded. "We have for a while."

Ed's eye twitched. Was that how Mustang had been keeping tabs on him? Through Hawkeye who was getting information from Winry? _Note to self: punch Mustang. _Even if he was being paranoid, he owed Mustang a few good hits for years of being a bastard.

Winry twirled her noodles, obviously realizing she'd walked into dangerous territory. "Ed, stop bending the fork. It never did anything to you." She watched as he returned the fork to its original shape before continuing. "So, what did you names did you give the new recruits?"

Edward huffed and leaned back. "Holland is the Blood Alchemist, since that's his medical expertise, and that crazy bi-"

"Edward! We're in public!"

"-Crazy lady Nevsky is the Tornado Alchemist. Mustang came up with that one; he said she looked like one when she fought." Ed scowled. "He was probably staring at her chest the whole time."

Winry sighed as Edward gave the table a death glare and muttered under his breath about how perverted Mustang was.

"So, you ready for Xing?"

Winry glanced up at Ed, who was leaning back in his chair with a smirk. She grinned and nodded. "I am! I can't wait to see Al again."

Ed's eyes widened. "That's _all_ you're looking forward to? Aren't you forgetting something?" he asked.

"I don't think so…" Winry tapped her chin and looked thoughtful. "Though I would like to see Mei again."

Ed looked ready to explode. "No, that's not all we're doing!"

Winry tilted her head and gave Ed a blank stare. He sputtered and fisted his hands, obviously unwilling to say anything about them getting married.

"You do realize I'm joking with you, right?"

He scowled. "That wasn't funny," he muttered, crossing his arms.

Winry snorted and got to her feet. "C'mon, Ed. We have a train to catch in the morning, and this is one trip I wouldn't miss for anything."

**Yes! The next chapter shall be full of EdWin, dirty jokes, Al, and Ling! It might take me a while to get the next chapter posted, as it's going to be just as long (if not longer) than this one, and I'll be heading off to college next week. So not much computer time in the near future. But do not fear, it will come!**


	38. Shell

**Not as much Ling as I thought there would be, but you do get a nice action scene.**

**I don't know if you guys know this, but a fourth OVA was released for Brotherhood. It's how Roy and Hughes met in boot camp and it is _amazing_. I cried a little. There's also a bonus manga chapter that released earlier this month, but I've yet to find any scanlations. Supposedly, it's a summertime short ;)**

38. Shell

"EDDDWAAARRRDDDD!"

Ed groaned and tried to hide himself behind one of the poles in the train station. But it was in vain, and Ed found himself tackled by an over-excited Ling Yao.

"It's been so long since we've talked! I have to say, I'm proud of you for finally making a move on your _beautiful_ mechanic-" Ling broke off in time to duck and dodge a flying suitcase. "-And so, to honor this marvelous event, I have taken great pains to secure the most… _appropriate_ accommodations for you." Ling waggled his eyebrows suggestively and winked when Ed went scarlet.

Winry had approached them at that point, and she glanced between Ed's red face and Ling's smirk before sighing and rolling her eyes. "It's great to see you again, Ling," she said, dragging the attention away from Ed and giving him time to cool down.

Ling grinned and bowed with a flourish of his robes. "And it's wonderful to see you, too, Miss Rockbell," he said. "Now, you can leave your suitcases here; the attendants will bring them to your quarters." He waved and three finely-dressed Xingese men melted out of the crowd and began to collect the baggage.

The three of them left the station with Ling in the lead. Out on the street, an old-fashioned carriage was waiting for them, along with several bodyguards. Lan Fan, Ed noticed, was not there.

Getting to the palace took longer than Ed had expected. The walls of the building could be seen from the station, but the carriage was stopped several times.

Ed groaned and gave the ceiling a deadly glare when the carriage was stopped for the fifth time. Winry pushed aside the curtains over the windows to take a peek outside. "Ling, what the hell is the problem? Shouldn't we be there by now?"

Ling sighed and crossed his arms across his chest. "It's the security checkpoints," he said, voice darkening.

"Why?"

The prince remained silent and Ed scowled and kicked him. Ling swore and scooted to the other end of his bench, across from Winry and out of Ed's reach. "Why, Ling?"

Ling licked his lips before sighing in defeat. "We had assassins get into the palace the other night."

Winry gasped and turned her attention back to the men; Ed raised an eyebrow. "They kill anyone?" he asked.

"Yes," Ling replied, nodding. "They took out the entire Tong entourage that was here for trade negotiations." He shifted as the carriage began to roll again. "The guards caught four of the assassins, but we think there were at least ten. The Tong clan sent almost thirty members to the city, and they're all dead." He scratched the back of his head. "We have a couple of clues, and a lot of guards are out hunting the city."

"Is that were Lan Fan is?"

Ling looked surprised at Ed's question, but he shook his head. "She was injured during the fights inside the palace, so she's recovering in the ward."

It was clear from Ling's voice that he didn't want to say anymore about the subject. Ed leaned back in his seat. "So now you've got six crazy people running around Manchu who know how to get into the palace. That's just fabulous," he muttered.

Ling shrugged. "I doubt they'll be back. Besides, the Tongs were a real pain the ass with the negotiations. And now there's one less person between me and the throne." He glanced over at Winry, who looked horrified. "What? I'm an optimist."

* * *

They finally arrived at the palace and Ling showed them to their room.

"Wow," Winry whispered as the two of them entered their quarters. The room was large and lavish, the floor covered with rugs. Against the far wall was the bed, large enough for four people to sleep on, and was piled with thick blankets. A large fireplace dominated one of the walls and several Xingese decorations were situated around the room.

Winry wandered over to the bed and Ed turned to face Ling in the doorway. "Okay, you can leave now."

Ling frowned. "But you just got here. C'mon, we need to spend some time catching up."

"We can do that later. Now please leave before Winry gets over how fancy this room is and doesn't feel like making out with me as thanks for acquiring it."

Ling's eyes popped and he wedged his foot in the door when Ed tried to close it. "Well, can you let me watch, then?"

Ed gave Ling the most incredulous look he could muster. "Hell no! Get out, Squinty Eyes."

"Oh, come on! Please? And that's Prince Squinty Eyes to you!"

"I said no!" Ed snarled and slammed his foot onto Ling's, digging in as hard as he could with his automail heel.

Ling yanked his foot out from under Ed's, howling something about broken toes and crazy foreigners. Ed took the chance to slam the door shut and transmute it into the wall to keep Ling from breaking in later.

"Stupid prince."

* * *

They had dinner in the room that night- courtesy of Ling, who was obviously still sore about the injured foot.

With Ling sulking and Al out of town, there was nothing for the couple to do besides "go to bed." At least, that was Ed's opinion. And once the kissing started, Winry stopped demanding to tour the palace.

Ed rolled over to glance at the clock next to the bed when Winry began to doze off on his chest. It was almost midnight; Ed cracked a yawn and pulled Winry closer.

He was almost asleep when a soft rustling caught his attention.

Ed frowned and cracked open an eye. He glanced around the room, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The alchemist shrugged and tried to go back to sleep.

But years of trying to not get killed prevented him from doing so. His brain kept him awake, telling him that something was wrong, and he had better go find out what it was before he got a knife in an unpleasant place.

_"We had assassins get into the palace the other night." _

Ed groaned mentally. Really? Here, when he was trying to get married? _Dammit_.

He opened his eyes again and slowly dislodged himself from Winry, who made a sleepy attempt to drag him back to bed. "Where you going?" she asked thickly, most displeased with having been woken up.

Ed glanced around the room. "I gotta pee," he said, loud enough so that anyone in the room would hear it. If they thought he didn't know, then he could maybe lure them out…

Winry gave him a look before snorting and rolling back over.

Ed slipped out of the bed and made a show of yawning and stretching. It gave him a good chance to look around the room without being too obvious about it.

And it worked, too. He could pick out a faint glimmer (probably a sword) near one of the statues in the room. It was a sculpture of some nude Xingese river goddess, situated in a giant clamshell with conveniently placed hair and a giant pearl in one hand a conch in the other. Ling had informed him that it was the goddess of fertility, and Ed had not missed the suggestive waggle of the prince's eyebrows.

But from the way this was looking, that statue was going to be destroyed.

Ed staggered over to it, glad that it was between him and small bathroom attached to the room. He scratched his stomach, making sure to look like he didn't have a clue as to what was going on.

He came to the statue and, with one deft kick, knocked it over and onto the assassin. The man swore and leapt out from behind, narrowly avoiding being pinned. The statue fell to ground and shattered with a deafening crash. Behind him, Ed heard Winry jerk awake and yelled at him; the clatter of guards running to their room came from the hall.

Ed snarled and grabbed the man's wrist, snapping it and causing him to drop the dagger in his hand. Another attacker jumped out from one of the tapestries and Ed cursed as he dodged a swipe of an axe.

_These guys are serious_. The first attacker had pulled out another dagger and the two continued to circle Ed, keeping one of them in his blind spot. It was getting dangerous and Ed had absolutely no intention of letting either one of them get anywhere near Winry.

The guards had arrived at the door, but, because Ed had been hell-bent on having private time with Winry, the door was sealed, and they couldn't get in.

_Well. That certainly backfired_, Ed thought grimly as he ducked another swing from the axe and kicked the swordsman in the gut. The man grunted and stumbled backward and Ed took the chance to smash his foot in the side of his head. There was a grunt and the man collapsed on the floor.

Ed smirked and turned to face the axe wielder. But as he turned, the man swung down with the axe; Ed just had enough time to grab the handle and stop the blade from reaching his face. The man was a giant and Ed grunted as he pushed down on the handle, trying to force Ed to his knees.

"Bastard. I'm trying to get married here," he snarled. He shifted, trying to get a better stance when his right leg jerked and a jolt of pain flashed up his side. _The hip port!_

Ed swore to himself as the leg went rigid; he almost stumbled, but pivoted around to regain his balance. His hip was starting to burn with pain, but he could shift off of it without falling over. _Crap, this is bad. Very bad._

He continued the scuffle with the assassin, trying to push the axe away from him, but it was like trying to hold back a bull by the horns. In other words, it was going badly.

The man spat something in Xingese, and Ed understood enough to know that it wasn't very nice. Ed grunted in surprise as the attacker suddenly jerked the axe forward, effectively throwing Ed off balance. He tripped and went down on one knee; Ed jerked his head up in time to see the assassin's boot looming over him.

_Crack._

Ed jerked in surprise as the attacker's eyes widened and then rolled back in his head. The alchemist watched him fall to the floor, the axe hitting the ground with a clatter.

Slowly, Ed turned to glance back up, only to find Winry. The conch shell from the statue was in her hand and she looked _furious_. She glared at the unconscious attacker and chucked the shell at his body and crossed her arms across her chest.

"Really, Edward? You can't even take a leak without getting into a fight!"

Ed blinked. Winry looming over him in a (short) nightgown was a rather distracting sight and he found that thinking coherently was rather out of his league. "I didn't really have to pee," he said, as if that justified the situation.

Winry rolled her eyes and held out her hand to him. "Get up, Ed. You have to let the guards in," she said, pushing him in the direction of the transmuted door once he was on his feet. "I'll fix your leg when they get this cleaned up."

Ed limped over to the door and unsealed it, letting in a stream of guards.

As the guards cleaned up the mess, Ed sunk down on the edge of the bed next to Winry. She leaned over. "Y'know, watching you fight in your boxers was very entertaining," she whispered.

Ed raised an eyebrow. "I think I could say the same for you and that nightgown."

Winry flushed and pulled some of the bed sheets around her legs.

As the last of the guards left the room, Winry frowned. "Ed? You resealed the door after dinner, right?"

He nodded. "Why?"

"That means that the assassins have been in here since we got here."

Ed froze. "Then that means they were here when we were…" he trailed off and glanced over at Winry. They stared at each other for a moment. "I'm glad you smacked that guy as hard as you did. I doubt he'll remember anything."

**The fight scene was done on the spur of the moment- I had planned on putting the bachelor party in this chapter, but that's been bumped to the next chapter. Don't worry, you'll get it! **


	39. Rope

**Happy (belated) October 3rd, everyone! I meant to have this up yesterday, but there's been some indirect death and drama in my life and it's kind of a killer for writing time.**

**Lots of fun stuff in this chapter- Ling, drunken young men, fainting spells, total panic, and a wedding. **

39. Rope

"They were in there the _whole time_?"

Ed groaned and ran a hand down his face. "Yes, Ling. The assassins were in our room when we were… _y'know_…" he trailed off and glanced over at Al, who had turned scarlet. Clearly, the time away had not helped him wrap his head around the fact that his brother and best friend were "being adults" with each other.

Ling shook his head slowly. "I wish I coulda been there," he whispered reverently.

"Shut up, stupid prince!"

Across the table, Havoc snickered. He had been in Xing for almost a year for therapy, and was well on his way to be just as mobile as he had ever been. Occasionally, he'd need a cane, but the soldier was mostly up and running. "Good for you, boss. It's about time you let your hormones go crazy."

Ed glared at Havoc and slouched down, cradling his head in his hands. "So, Ling. Why'd you drag us all here?" They were in one of the private dining rooms, far from the center of the palace. And Ling had insisted that Winry didn't come, which was strange for Ling, since the prince took every chance he could get to try to woo Winry away from Edward and into his soon-to-be harem.

Ling smirked and reached under the table and pulled out two large bottles of wine. He slammed them down on the table and waved his hands dramatically. "Tonight, Edward Elric, we celebrate your last hours of bachelorhood!"

* * *

"I gotta say, Ling, this is some goooodd stuff," Ed slurred. Havoc grunted in agreement and took another swing of his drink.

Ling waved a hand dismissively. "I stole it from th' kitchens," he said and giggled. "The cooks threw a fryin' pan at me!"

"You pro'ly deserved, since you're such an ass."

"Brother!" Al scolded and smacked his brother's shoulder. "Just 'cause you're drunk doesn't mean you can say things like that."

Ed scowled and squinted at Al's cup. "You've barely had any! Drink, Al!" he said, pointing authoritatively at the cup.

Al rolled his eyes as Havoc and Ling began to argue over whether breasts were better than butts. "Look, Ed, you're going to be married tomorrow. Do you really want to be hung-over?"

The elder Elric looked thoughtful for a moment, but then shrugged.

"You do realize Winry will kill you, right?"

That thought made Ed pause, but Ling stumbled over and refilled Ed's glass. "Hey, Ed! Havoc said you can't hold yer liquor 'cause 'o the automail."

"What?" Ed squawked, whirling around to glare at Havoc, all thoughts of Winry forgotten. "I can drink like any man!"

Al groaned as the three began a drinking game, too caught up in proving their "manliness" to each other to notice that Al wasn't participating.

"Oh! I know wha' we should do!"

Al glanced over at Ling, who had both his hands in the air and looked like he had just had the best idea in the world.

"Wha'?" Ed asked slowly. The blond was a little cross-eyed and was leaning slightly to one side. Havoc, who had passed out earlier, was snoring on a rug several feet away.

"Piercings!" Ling declared. "We can pierce our ears!"

Ed's eyes widened and he sat up straighter. "Yes!" he shouted, one fist shooting up into the air and almost nailing Al in the jaw.

Alphonse groaned and slammed his head on the table. "Why are you so stupid?" he muttered into the wood.

Ling managed to corral one of the servants, who looked rather alarmed at the drunken state of the prince. "Ev'ryone! This is Bao!" he stated as he dragged the young woman into the room. "She knows how t' do piercings an' stuff so don't lose our ears or nuttin'."

Ed nodded in approval. "Tha's good. I dun wanna look like an idiot with only one ear."

Ling gave Ed a thumbs-up. "He's first. He's gettin' married t'morrow," he told Bao and led her over to where Ed was slouched on the table.

She sat and pulled a small bag out of her robes. "Where would you like the piercing, sir?" she asked. It was obvious she was reluctant to do this, but denying orders from royalty, no matter how inebriated, was something she couldn't do.

Ed glanced around the room while he thought. "Right there," he decided, pointing drunkenly to the top of his left ear.

Al lifted his head from the table. "Ed, don't do it," he pleaded. It probably wouldn't change anything, but at least he could tell Winry he had tried.

Ed waved his automail had dismissively. "I'm a man, Al. A man!"

…As if that had anything to do with the situation.

Bao twirled a small needle between her fingers. "Stay still, sir," she said, raising the needle.

And Al saw his last opportunity. "Ed! She's going to stab you with a needle!"

Out in the hall, one servant dropped a tray of food in surprise at the ear-piercing scream that came tearing out of the dining room.

* * *

"You've got to be kidding me. I can't wear this!" Ed exclaimed as he examined himself in the mirror the next morning. The combination of his pounding headache and throbbing ear had made him grouchier than normal and even more stubborn.

Ling pouted. "You have to, Ed! This goes with the theme of the wedding and-"

Ed held up a hand. "Whoa, whoa! Theme?" he asked, one eyebrow raised.

The prince blinked. "Well, yes. Every wedding has to have a theme."

Ed frowned and glanced over at Al, who was sprawled over a small couch. The younger Elric shrugged. "It does go with the theme…" he muttered and looked away when Ed snarled out a curse.

"What is with you people? I'm not wearing this. It's a _dress_!"

"It's not! It's a _tunic_, Edward!" Ling shouted back. "And you have pants on, so stop complaining!"

Ed scowled and crossed his arms. "What the hell is theme, anyway?"

Ling's face lit up and he grabbed Ed's arms and dragged him forward so they were face-to-face. "Xerxes!"

Ed's face went blank. "…What?" he asked.

"You heard me. It's Xerxes." When Ed continued to stare, Ling continued. "C'mon, Ed, you're Xerxan! Practically the last one, 'sides Al," he said, gesturing to the younger Elric. "And we spent so much time planning it, too. I had a bunch of scholars look for anything about Xerxes in the records and we found a scroll that told about some marriage that the Emperor went to way back in the day and-"

Ling continued to ramble on and Ed rubbed the side of his face with his hand. "Al, why the hell did you let him do this?" he asked, turning to glare at his younger brother.

Al raised an eyebrow. "I've been out in the country practicing medical alchemy," he replied. "If you had thought to tell me that you were coming to Xing to get married, then maybe I could have come back earlier and kept Ling in check so he wouldn't have gotten so carried away."

"So you're saying that this is all my fault?"

"Yes."

Edward groaned and tentatively poked his ear. It flared with pain and he winced. "Figures. I try to do this whole romantic eloping thing, and I end up hung-over, in a dress, and another hole in my body."

Al sat up. "Don't be such a drama queen, Ed. If you don't like the piercing, just let the hole close up. And we've been over this- it's not a dress."

The elder squinted at the mirror, eyeing his new piercing. Ling had found a large ruby stud to keep the hole from closing, and Ed had to admit that it didn't look all that bad. The fact that he was biased towards anything red probably had something to do with it, but still…

"Y'know, I kinda like the piercing," Ed admitted with a grumble. Al rolled his eyes with a snort.

For the wedding, Ling had ordered a recreation of the robes traditionally worn by the past kings of Xerxes. The tunic came down to his knees and was fastened at the waist with a wide black belt. Matching pants were tucked into thick leather boots. While in the scrolls, the robes usually had a purple lining, Ed's had been changed to a deep red and both the belt and boots had been studded with rubies.

Really, it wasn't all that bad, and Ed had a feeling Winry would be pleased with the amount of muscle it showed off.

"Here," Ling had finished his monologue and was holding out two gold cuffs to Ed.

Ed took them and slid them onto his wrists. He gave himself a critical glare in the mirror before turning back to Ling with a smirk. "So. Does this come with a crown?"

Ling rolled his eyes.

* * *

"Al. I'm going to die."

"No you're not, Ed. Just calm down."

"I am! Al, I feel like I'm about to have a stroke. I don't think that's normal."

"Alright, then start taking deep breaths. Just don't panic, and you'll be fine."

"But I have to say things! And at certain times!"

"Ed, you have to say one thing. If it makes you feel better, I'll nudge you or something when it's your turn to speak."

"But what if I don't make it? What if- Ow!"

"Ed, shut up! Winry's coming!"

* * *

Ed couldn't remember what exactly happened during the wedding, or anything immediately following.

He _did_ know that he had nearly had a heart attack and keeled over when he'd taken his first look at Winry in the wedding dress.

Her dress had been styled in the same way his had been. The dress was white with red trim, with a thick, long skirt and flowing sleeves. She had a delicate golden chain around her neck and a matching circlet on her neck. He caught a quick glimpse of slim red sandals when she walked.

…And the way the dress hugged her hips made Ed wish the ceremony would hurry up and finish so he could get some alone time with Winry.

Then they'd made eye contact and everything was a little fuzzy after that. He faintly remembered Al kicking him in the leg port and stuttering out words when everyone looked at him. There had been the one part where they had tied their wrists together with a piece of rope- that had taken more concentration than Ed would have thought possible. It wasn't until Winry had forcibly shoved him onto the bed in their room and started kissing him that he really started paying attention to what was going on.

Ed grinned wolfishly and rolled over so he was on top. "I'm so glad Ling didn't plan a reception," he said, leaning down the nibble on her ear. "I don't think I could have waited that long."

"Well, considering there's only six of us, there's not much need for one," Winry replied, using her feet to wedge of his boots.

He grunted in agreement, too busy to actually form words.

Winry snorted and wiggled her arms out from underneath him to begin untying the rope.

Edward paused and tugged his arm away. "What are you doing?"

"It's in the way- give me your arm," she replied, yanking at his arm so she could reach the knot.

"Aw, c'mon, Winry. Leave it. I think it's kinda sexy. It'll make tonight... _fun_."

* * *

"Mustang here."

"Hey, Chief! Long time, eh?"

"Havoc? That you?"

"Sure is, General. I've got some news for you from the land of Xing."

"Oh? You getting ready to finish up therapy?"

"Well, almost, but that's not what I called about."

"What is it?"

"Well…. The Boss got married last night to his mechanic…. Chief? You there? Hey! Mustang!"

"Havoc, what happened?"

"Hawkeye? What happened to Mustang?"

"It looks like he fainted. What the hell did you tell him?"

* * *

**The wedding outfits were inspired by me watching an Aladdin marathon and then going back and reading the manga about Xerxes. I have learned that I much prefer dialogue over descriptions. And I completely forgot to include Mei in this. Oops.**

**Bromance: Ed and Ling have it. I love those two so much!**

**Honeymoon next chapter! Oh ho ;)**


	40. Falling of Cherry Blossoms

**College. It's eating my brain.**

**Anywho, honeymoon in this chapter! It didn't turn out like I wanted it to, but I think I've wrestled with this chapter enough. So enjoy and get your EdWin fix.**

40. Falling of Cherry Blossoms

If the treatment they were getting in Xing was payment for Ling's food bills, then Winry couldn't figure out how in the world Edward hadn't gone bankrupt over the years. Yes, state alchemists received a hefty paycheck and Ed wasn't known to go on shopping sprees, but really.

Besides having their train tickets paid for, they had:

A private wedding,

Rooming in the royal quarters,

Several thousand cens' worth of spending money,

Paid meals,

And two weeks in a private cabin on the outskirts on Manchu.

Needless to say, Winry was impressed.

After the wedding (from which Ed still seemed to be recovering from) they had taken a train to the far side of Manchu, where they had a secluded cabin and daily transportation to and from the city.

It was a nice cabin, Winry had to admit. It was well off the main road, with a path was lined with cherry trees leading up to the cottage. The couriers had dropped their bags off earlier and she and Ed were free to stroll up the path by themselves.

"Nice place, isn't it?" Ed asked, draping his arm across Winry's shoulders. "Supposedly the Emperor's heirs come here a lot."

Winry hummed in agreement and raised a hand to brush one of the lower branches of the cherry trees. "It was really nice of Ling to let us stay here."

Ed smirked. "Well, that stupid prince owed me like you wouldn't _believe_."

She punched his arm. "I find it hard to believe that he could have eaten that much food, even if it was over a couple of years."

They arrived at the cabin and Ed unlocked and opened the door. It was a small cabin- it was mostly the bedroom with an attached bathroom and a small kitchen in the back. The decoration definitely lent itself to Xingese royalty, as it mirrored their arrangements from back in the palace.

Winry untangled herself from Edward and made her way to the bedroom. She had planned on unpacking, but the large pile of boxes on the bed made her stop in the doorway. "Ed? What's all this?"

Ed, who had been digging through the pantry, poked his head in the room. "What's what?"

She waved a hand at the wrapped packages.

Ed's eyes widened and he grinned. "Wedding presents!" he said, pushing himself all the way into the room and vaulting himself over the pile and onto the bed.

Winry blinked at Ed's childish display before sitting next to him on the bed. He had made a grab for a long, slender box, and had already discarded the note attached. As Ed began to tear off the wrapping, she picked up the note to read. Surprisingly, it was only addressed to her.

_Winry-_

_Sorry for buying Ed one of these, but I promised I'd get him one. Don't worry, I got you something too. Please don't kill me._

_- Alphonse_

"Yes!"

Winry jerked her head up from the note to find Ed holding a sword above his head. The hilt was a bright red, inlaid with golden carvings. The guard, much to Winry's horror, was some sort of horned, fanged beast.

"This is so _awesome_! I love you, Al!"

With a sigh, Winry leaned over and began to unwrap the second box Al had sent. It turned out to be something much more functional (and tasteful) - a brand new automail tool set straight from Drachma.

Well, she supposed she _could _forgive Al after all.

It took some convincing to make Ed put the sword down, but they finally managed to get to the opening of the other presents. Mei had given them an authentic Xingese tea set (which Ed wasn't too thrilled about until Winry pointed out the dragons that were carved into the handles) and Havoc had sent an entire collection of cooking ware- pots, pans, and all.

The last package was from Ling and Winry flipped the small, flat box open as she pulled the last of the paper off. Inside was a leather-bound book with a heavily Xingese-styled picture on the cover that looked suspiciously like Ed and Ling sitting around a boiling pot. She glanced at the title, written in the elegant, flowing script of an Imperial scribe: _The Man Who Fed Shoes to the Emperor. _

"Umm, Ed? Care to explain this?"

Ed looked up from his examination of his new sword. "Explain what?"

She held the book out to him. Edward stared at the cover, eyes slowly getting wider and wider until he finally began to laugh. "That stupid prince!" he howled, one hand covering his eyes. "I didn't think he'd actually do it!"

Winry scowled, eyes going back to the book. "…You mean you actually fed Ling one of your _shoes_?"

By this point, Ed was laughing so hard he had fallen over onto his side on the bed and only managed to nod in response.

She shook her head. "That's disgusting, Edward."

"It was from my left food, so it wasn't sweaty or anything."

"That makes it worse! That boot was probably soaked with oil and grease from your automail!"

That made the laughter stop. Ed sat up so quickly he almost smacked heads with his wife. "Wait, really?"

Winry nodded.

"Oh." Ed looked off to the side and frowned. "Well, we're still alive now, aren't we?"

"You could have killed Ling, you know," she said, ignoring Ed's defensive mumbling and opening the book. Inside the cover was another note, this time from Ling:

_Edward,_

_I figured I'd go and have a copy of this made, even though I'm not the Emperor yet. Still, we all know it's coming. Consider this a way to prove to your future offspring that yes, you do know the famous Emperor Ling Yao of Xing. And I can promise you that this will become a popular tale when I'm running this country._

_-Ling_

_P.S. - I'll stick this in the history books if you name your first born son after me._

Ed, who had leaned over her shoulder to read, muttered something offensive and rolled his eyes. Winry, while part of her agreed with Ed, chose to flip through the book instead. It was written like a storybook- lots of pictures and bright colors with any violence conveniently glossed over. She did want to read it, but she closed it and put it away before Ed had the chance to notice the obvious height difference between him and Ling in the pictures.

Their two weeks turned out to be more romantic than Winry would have thought

* * *

possible. Yes, Ed was… _exhausting_ a good part of the time, as he was just being Ed, but she knew he was at least trying to be gentleman.

And she really hadn't been expecting it. When he actually pulled out her chair at a restaurant for her one night she almost fell on her face in surprise.

They spent almost the entire trip in the city, visiting museums, shopping, eating out, and touring the various attractions the capital of Xing had to offer. And during the nights, well…

…Let's just say they had lots of "together" time.

* * *

They returned to their cabin on the last night of the honeymoon after one of the fanciest dinners Winry had ever eaten. Even Ed, who had been forced to dine at the occasional formal dinner with the military, seemed completely thrown by the fact that there were half a dozen forks, two pairs of chopsticks, and three different napkins. Luckily, they had a private room, and so any social faux pas they committed were well hidden from the public.

Ed yawned loudly and stumbled into the bedroom, kicking off his shoes as he did so. "I'm so full," he groaned as he face-planted onto the bed, limbs splayed out around him.

Winry rolled her eyes as she changed clothes. She nudged Ed's arm off of her side of the bed and laid down, pulling the covers up over her. Some shuffling from the other side of the bed signaled that Ed was doing the same.

"'Night, Winry," he mumbled, already half-asleep. She smirked and wrapped her arms around his waist; after a moment, he did the same. He was still embarrassed about displaying affection, even when they were alone. It was adorable, the way he would always sputter over anything that even hinted at their relationship.

"Goodnight, Ed."

Ed wasn't sure what had woken him up. It was quiet in the room, and still dark outside. He wasn't hungry and he didn't have to use the bathroom… The alchemist frowned and closed his eyes again, but a wet, squelching noise caught his attention.

He sat up and glanced to the other side of the bed, which was empty. The light from the bathroom was on, and the alchemist looked down at the empty bed. After a moment to sleep-laden thought, he finally put two and two together.

"Winry!"

Ed scrambled out of the bed and over to the bathroom door. "Hey, Win? Are you alright?"

There were some more noises and Ed cringed. He tried to open the door, but it was locked, and he knew better than to use alchemy to try to break the door down. Winry probably had her wrench in there with her.

The toilet flushed and Ed stepped back as the door opened. Winry rubbed at her eyes and made a face. "Yeah, I'm fine. Must have been the fish I had for dinner," she told him, fighting back a yawn.

Ed crossed his arms and followed Winry back to the bed. "You sure? We could get Ling to set you up with one of the doctors."

Winry shook her head. "No, I'll be fine, Ed. It's the just the fish."

But clearly, it wasn't. The third time Winry got up for the bathroom, Ed refused to budge on the doctor issue.

"You're going," he said, pointedly ignoring her pout.

And so, when they arrived back at the palace, Winry was led to see one of the on-call doctors and Ed was immediately ambushed by Ling and Al.

"Soooooooo?" Ling asked, grinning smugly. "Was it good?"

Ed smirked. "It was fantastic, Ling." Al, Ed noticed, didn't go quite as red as he normally did.

Ling clapped his hands happily and scooted closer to Edward. "Tell me!" he demanded, as if they were old women gossiping over the latest developing love triangles in their town.

The blond leaned in towards the Xingese prince. "You can have all the women you want in that harem, Ling, but none of them will even come _close_ to what I've got."

Ling raised an eyebrow. "Is that a challenge, Elric?"

"It would seem so, Yao."

"You're on!"

Al groaned.

For the next hour, Ed and Ling exchanged dirty looks and smirks from across the room while Al made a point of ignoring them while he went over some of the formulas in this research journal. Sometimes he wondered if he was really related at all.

Footsteps broke off one of Ling's retorts and the three men looked up to see the middle-aged doctor approaching them. Immediately, Ed was on his feet, arms crossed over his chest.

"Mister Elric?" the doctor asked, voice thick with his Xingese accent. Ed nodded once, too worked up to form words at the moment. The doctor clasped his hands behind his back. "Congratulations- you're going to be a father."

**Ohoho! Daddy Edward is on the way!**

**And I loved the bit in the manga about Ed feeding shoes to Ling. Brotherhood kind of skimmed over it, unfortunately. So it gets a shout-out here.**


End file.
